Seaweeds, Bioactive Compounds and Health

Dear Colleagues,

Non-communicable chronic diseases have become a major health problem worldwide, causing more than 40 million deaths per year and affecting people of all ages and income levels. Of them, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, obesity, and diabetes are the most common. Although the development of some of these diseases has a well-known genetic background/predisposition component, several modifiable risk factors, such as inadequate dietary habits, insufficient physical activity, and tobacco and alcohol consumption, have been identified as triggering factors. Unfortunately, the therapeutic approaches that are currently used for the treatment of these diseases have not been successful enough since their prevalence has increased in the last few decades.

In this scenario, much effort has been made by the scientific community to look for bioactive compounds that may exert beneficial effects and thus serve as preventive or therapeutic tools against non-communicable chronic diseases. In this regard, seaweeds have been identified as rich sources of  compounds of interest, such as minerals, vitamins, sterols, polyunsaturated fatty acids, fiber, polysaccaharides, and peptides. Indeed, studies conducted in vitro have reported promising results regarding the potential usage of seaweeds for the development of nutraceuticals or drugs that may be effective for the treatment of the aforementioned diseases.

This Special Issue aims to summarize our current knowledge of seaweed usage in the prevention and treatment of non-communicable chronic diseases. Authors are invited to contribute with original research (preclinical studies or clinical trials) and review articles.

Dr. Iñaki Milton Laskibar
Prof. Dr. María P. Portillo
Guest Editors

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• seaweeds
• cardiovascular diseases
• obesity
• diabetes
• cancer
• bioactive compounds
• NAFLD