Characterization of Bioactive Components in Edible Algae

Dear Colleagues,                

Numerous factors affect the quality of modern life so that the population should be aware of the importance of food containing substances that help promote health, thereby bringing about an improvement in nutritional status. The incidence of death due to cancer, cardiovascular accidents, stroke, atherosclerosis, liver diseases, among others, can be minimized through good eating habits. Functional foods and nutraceuticals have commonly been considered synonyms, however, functional foods should be in the form of common food, consumed as part of the diet and produce specific health benefits, such as reducing the risk of various diseases and maintenance of physical and mental well-being. Biologically active substances found in functional foods can be classified such as probiotics and prebiotics, nitrogenated foods, pigments and vitamins, phenolic compounds, polyunsaturated fatty acids, and fibers.

The marine environment provides a huge source of many healthy foods including algae (seaweed – green, red, and brown macroalgae), an example of a marine product that has been part of the diet in several countries around the world. Furthermore, marine specimens are also sources of an abundance of chemicals many of them with biological properties and therefore called bioactive compounds. These chemicals can be extracted and incorporated in several food matrices leading to new potential functional foods.

Poor in fat, marine algae have polysaccharides that behave, for the most part, as non-caloric fibers. Algae therefore appear to be the best way to correct the current global nutrient deficiencies (in developed, emerging and / or underdeveloped countries) because of their varied range of essential constituents - minerals (iron and calcium), proteins (with all essential amino acids), vitamins and fibers - nutrients absolutely necessary for the primary human metabolism.

Prof. Dr. Leonel Pereira
Guest Editor

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