Seaweeds: Bioactive Compounds and High-Value Products
A special issue of Marine Drugs (ISSN 1660-3397). This special issue belongs to the section "Marine-Derived Ingredients for Drugs, Cosmeceuticals and Nutraceuticals".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 December 2026 | Viewed by 501
Editor
Interests: seaweeds; macroalgae; fucoidan; ulvan; carrageenan; alginate; laminarin; bioactive polysaccharides; natural products; wound healing; immunomodulation; anticancer; anti-inflammatory; antioxidant; antimicrobial; functional foods; nutraceuticals; cosmeceuticals; pharmaceuticals; drug delivery; extraction technologies; structural characterization (NMR, HPLC, FT-IR, GC-MS); in vitro studies; in vivo studies; marine biotechnology; blue bioeconomy; sustainable production; value-added products
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Seaweeds (marine macroalgae) are increasingly recognized as among the most promising and sustainable sources of bioactive natural products for pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, and cosmeceutical applications. These marine organisms produce an extraordinary diversity of unique compounds, including sulfated polysaccharides (fucoidans, ulvans, carrageenans) and other non-sulfated polysaccharides (xylans, alginates, laminarins), phenolic compounds (phlorotannins, flavonoids), pigments (fucoxanthin, phycoerythrin), and bioactive lipids (omega-3 PUFAs). Many of these molecules exhibit potent wound-healing, immunomodulatory, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antimicrobial, and antiviral activities, making them attractive candidates for drug development and high-value product formulation. Despite the growing body of research on seaweed bioactives, significant challenges remain in understanding their structure-activity relationships, molecular mechanisms of action, and translation from laboratory findings to commercial products. Issues related to extraction standardization, scalable production, formulation stability, and clinical validation continue to limit the widespread adoption of seaweed-derived products in the mainstream healthcare industry.
This Special Issue, titled “Seaweeds: Bioactive Compounds and High-Value Products,” aims to showcase the latest advancements in seaweed bioactive research, with an emphasis on their therapeutic potential, innovative extraction and purification technologies, and applications in functional foods, nutraceuticals, cosmeceuticals, and pharmaceuticals. We invite submissions that explore the following areas:
- Structural characterization and chemical modifications of seaweed-derived polysaccharides, phenolics, lipids, and proteins.
- Mechanistic studies on biological activities, including wound healing, immunomodulation, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antimicrobial, and antiviral effects.
- Development of seaweed-based drug delivery systems, biomaterials, hydrogels, and wound dressings.
- Synergistic interactions between seaweed bioactives and other therapeutic agents or natural products.
- Advances in green extraction, purification, and scalable production of seaweed-derived high-value compounds.
- Formulation, stability, and product development for functional foods, nutraceuticals, cosmeceuticals, and pharmaceutical applications.
- Preclinical (in vitro and in vivo) and clinical studies assessing the safety, efficacy, and bioavailability of seaweed-derived products.
We welcome original research articles, comprehensive reviews and communications that contribute to a deeper understanding of seaweed bioactive compounds and their translation into high-value products for human health and well-being. Studies employing innovative approaches, such as multi-omics analyses, advanced analytical techniques (HPLC, FT-IR, NMR, GC-MS, LC-MS), computational modeling, and rigorous animal or human trials, are particularly encouraged.
This Special Issue seeks to provide a platform for researchers, academics, and industry scientists to share their findings, address current challenges, and foster collaboration in the rapidly expanding field of seaweed biotechnology. By highlighting the latest developments, we aim to accelerate the translation of seaweed-derived bioactive compounds from bench to bedside and from laboratory to market.
We warmly invite academic and industry scientists to submit their work to this Special Issue, “Seaweeds: Bioactive Compounds and High-Value Products.”
Dr. Amal D. Premarathna
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Marine Drugs is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- seaweeds
- bioactive compounds
- high-value products
- marine biotechnology
- blue bioeconomy
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