Abstract (EN):
Background: Brown seaweeds are unanimously acknowledged as valuable producers of diverse and structurally complex compounds, with great potential in food and pharmaceutical industries. Among the brown algal high value bioactive compounds, phlorotannins have been pointed out as potent modulators of several biochemical processes linked to the breakdown of homeostasis in major chronic diseases. The chronic nature of several emerging diseases, along with the lack of effective preventive and curative therapies, is directing research into new sources of bioactive compounds with multimodal actions. Inflammatory processes are at the root of several biological processes and, in the last decades, a complex interplay between inflammation and allergic reactions has been acknowledged. Scope and approach: This review comprehensively covers the available literature on chemistry, biosynthesis, as well as on the mechanisms underlying anti-inflammatory and anti-allergic potential of both isolated phlorotannins and phlorotannin-rich extracts/fractions. Key findings and conclusions: The many outcomes revisited herein support the potential of phlorotannins as key compounds from still underexplored natural matrices, with a large spectrum of activity and low toxicity. Moreover, this work prospects the development of innovative and more detailed in vitro and in vivo studies, highlighting some potential directions for future progress in the design of novel therapeutic strategies from seaweed-derived products, also considering the limitations of past and current approaches.
Language:
English
Type (Professor's evaluation):
Scientific
No. of pages:
19