Brown Seaweeds from Black Sea Coast as an Important Source of Bioactive Compounds of Interest for Human Health

Abstract

For human nutrition, algae are important organisms that can offer essential compounds and new bioactive substances with pharmaceutical and medicinal value. Macroalgae contain nutritional elements such as lipids, proteins, vitamins and minerals and they are used as food supplements because they are known to be high in mineral content. There are a lot of nutritionally compunds that can be identified in algae such as polysaccharides, polyphenols, diterpenes, sterols, carbohydrates, peptides, polyunsaturated fatty acids, pigments and dietary fibers. Nutraceuticals are confirmed to be used as medicines because they are a good protector against chronic diseases and they have physiological benefits. Algae bioactive compounds could be used as an anticoagulant, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antimicrobial, antifungal, anticancer, antiviral, antidiabetic, antiobesity, antihypertensive and hypercholesterolemic nutraceuticals. Although only some of the algae have been studied properly for their chemical composition and properties, they are a considerable biological resource with ability for use as a raw material. In this paper the compounds from red and brown algae from the Romanian seaside are evaluated as sources of biologically active ingredients with benefits in human health.