Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2023 Feb 17;13(2):386.
doi: 10.3390/biom13020386.

Biomolecules from Macroalgae-Nutritional Profile and Bioactives for Novel Food Product Development

Laura E Healy  1   2 , Xianglu Zhu  1   3 , Milica Pojić  4 , Carl Sullivan  5 , Uma Tiwari  2 , James Curtin  6 , Brijesh K Tiwari  1
Affiliations
Review

Biomolecules from Macroalgae-Nutritional Profile and Bioactives for Novel Food Product Development

Laura E Healy et al. Biomolecules. .

Abstract

Seaweed is in the spotlight as a promising source of nutrition for humans as the search for sustainable food production systems continues. Seaweed has a well-documented rich nutritional profile containing compounds such as polyphenols, carotenoids and polysaccharides as well as proteins, fatty acids and minerals. Seaweed processing for the extraction of functional ingredients such as alginate, agar, and carrageenan is well-established. Novel pretreatments such as ultrasound assisted extraction or high-pressure processing can be incorporated to more efficiently extract these targeted ingredients. The scope of products that can be created using seaweed are wide ranging: from bread and noodles to yoghurt and milk and even as an ingredient to enhance the nutritional profile and stability of meat products. There are opportunities for food producers in this area to develop novel food products using seaweed. This review paper discusses the unique properties of seaweed as a food, the processes involved in seaweed aquaculture, and the products that can be developed from this marine biomass. Challenges facing the industry such as consumer hesitation around seaweed products, the safety of seaweed, and processing hurdles will also be discussed.

Keywords: new product development; seaweed aquaculture; seaweed processing; sustainable protein.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

No potential conflicts of interest was reported by the authors.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Scheme of seaweed properties, seaweed aquaculture processing and resulting products.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Mabeau S., Fleurence J. Seaweed in food products: Biochemical and nutritional aspects. Trends Food Sci. Technol. 1993;4:103–107. doi: 10.1016/0924-2244(93)90091-N. - DOI
    1. Tiwari B.K., Troy D.J. Chapter 1—Seaweed Sustainability—Food and Nonfood Applications. In: Tiwari B.K., Troy D.J., editors. Seaweed Sustainability. Academic Press; San Diego, CA, USA: 2015. pp. 1–6.
    1. Raja K., Kadirvel V., Subramaniyan T. Seaweeds, an aquatic plant-based protein for sustainable nutrition—A review. Futur. Foods. 2022;5:100142. doi: 10.1016/j.fufo.2022.100142. - DOI
    1. Yoshinaga J., Morita M., Yukawa M., Shiraishi K., Kawamura H., Arae H., Baker S., Barnes R.M., Dang H.S., De Regge P., et al. Certified Reference Material for Analytical Quality Assurance of Minor and Trace Elements in Food and Related Matrixes Based on a Typical Japanese Diet: Interlaboratory Study. J. AOAC Int. 2001;84:1202–1208. doi: 10.1093/jaoac/84.4.1202. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Yang Y.J., Nam S.-J., Kong G., Kim M.K. A case–control study on seaweed consumption and the risk of breast cancer. Br. J. Nutr. 2009;103:1345–1353. doi: 10.1017/S0007114509993242. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources