Current trends on seaweeds: Looking at chemical composition, phytopharmacology, and cosmetic applications

Seaweeds have received huge interest in recent years given their promising potentialities. Their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antitumor, hypolipemic, and anticoagulant effects are among the most renowned and studied bioactivities so far, and these effects have been increasingly associated with their content and richness in both primary and secondary metabolites. Although primary metabolites have a pivotal importance such as their content in polysaccharides (fucoidans, agars, carragenans, ulvans, alginates, and laminarin), recent data have shown that the content in some secondary metabolites largely determines the effective bioactive potential of seaweeds. Among these secondary metabolites, phenolic compounds feature prominently. The present review provides the most remarkable insights into seaweed research, specifically addressing its chemical composition, phytopharmacology, and cosmetic applications.We would like to thank the University of Aveiro and FCT/MCT for their financial support for the QOPNA Research Unit (FCT UID/QUI/00062/2019) and the cE3c Center (UID/BIA/00329/2013) through national founds, and where applicable, co-financed by the FEDER within the PT2020 Partnership Agreement. Martins N. would like to thank the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT-Portugal) for the strategic project ref. UID/BIM/04293/2013 and "NORTE2020-Programa Operacional Regional do Norte" (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000012). Acknowledgments: We would like to thank the University of Aveiro and FCT/MCT for their financial support for the QOPNA Research Unit (FCT UID/QUI/00062/2019) and the cE3c Center (UID/BIA/00329/2013) through national founds, and where applicable, co-financed by the FEDER within the PT2020 Partnership Agreement. Martins N. would like to thank the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT–Portugal) for the strategic project ref. UID/BIM/04293/2013 and “NORTE2020—Programa Operacional Regional do Norte” (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000012)