Abstract
Red Seaweed “Rhodophyta” are an important group of macroalgae that include approximately 7000 species. They are a rich source of structurally diverse bioactive constituents, including protein, sulfated polysaccharides, pigments, polyunsaturated fatty acids, vitamins, minerals, and phenolic compounds with nutritional, medical, and industrial importance. Polysaccharides are the main components in the cell wall of red algae and represent about 40–50% of the dry weight, which are extensively utilized in industry and pharmaceutical compounds, due to their thickening and gelling properties. The hydrocolloids galactans carrageenans and agars are the main red seaweed cell wall polysaccharides, which had broad-spectrum therapeutic characters. Generally, the chemical contents of seaweed are different according to the algal species, growth stage, environment, and external conditions, e.g., the temperature of the water, light intensity, nutrient concentrations in the ecosystem. Economically, they can be recommended as a substitute source for natural ingredients that contribute to a broad range of bioactivities like cancer therapy, anti-inflammatory agents, and acetylcholinesterase inhibitory. This review touches on the main points of the pharmaceutical applications of red seaweed, as well as the exploitation of their specific compounds and secondary metabolites with vital roles.
Highlights
Macroalgae are macroscopic benthic marine algae living in the intertidal zone
Red seaweed are the critical source of numerous bioactive compounds, in contrast with the other two groups of green and brown seaweed like polysaccharides “floridean starch and sulfated galactans, such as carrageenans or agars”, minerals, unsaturated fatty acids, amino acids, vitamins, phycobiliproteins, other pigments, phycolectins and mycosporine-like amino acids, which have many biological and industrial applications [2,3]
This review aims to provide an overview of some medical and cosmetic importance of red macroalgae
Summary
Macroalgae are macroscopic benthic marine algae (seaweed) living in the intertidal zone They are characterized by autotrophic nutrition and fast-growth; they do not need land for cultivation and their growth rate is faster than terrestrial plants [1]. They are categorized into three different groups. The protein content in red seaweed varied between 10–50% of the dry weight and being higher than macroalgal groups and some foods [4]. They contain the essential amino acid, about. The majority of these contents have shown promising biological abilities, including antimicrobial, antiviral, antitumor, antioxidant, anticoagulant, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic, antiallergic, and analgesics efficiencies [6,7]
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