Medicinal and therapeutic properties of cephalopod ink: A short review

Abstract

Cephalopoda is under the phylum of Mollusca with several important marine oceanic habitats. They are mostly well-known for their different uses such as food ingredients and nutraceutical benefits. Among all the different habitats of this class, different species of squid and cuttlefish often containing various nutraceutical properties along with the use as a food item. Surprisingly, the ink of these different species of cephalopods also contains different nutraceutical properties which are thrown away as by-product by most of the processing industries and consumers. There are different studies which focused on these properties obtained from the ink of these cephalopods. These studies clearly showed that this ink is a great source for decreasing various health problems and can be used widely in both pharmaceuticals and food industries. The aim of this review is to focus on its potentials and make it an evident towards the future uses of cephalopod ink.