Seaweeds: Valuable Ingredients for the Pharmaceutical Industries

Abstract

Seaweeds have been used since time immemorial in East Asia as spice, delicacy, and traditional medicines. In the recent decades, extensive studies have been done to establish health-promoting activities and pharmacological actions of seaweed-derived bioactive materials. These bioactive materials and extracts have been shown to possess a wide spectrum of biological actions, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antivirus, anticancer, antihypertensive, fat-lowering, and neuroprotective activities. Hence, seaweeds have gained much importance in pharmaceutical product development due to their rich bioactive compounds including polysaccharides, pigments, phlorotannins, peptides, mineral, and vitamins. Intensive efforts are still being made to isolate and identify new bioactive ingredients derived from seaweeds with potential medicinal, health, or pharmaceutical activities. The present chapter aims to narrate pharmaceutical potential and challenge of bioactive materials present in seaweeds.