Seaweeds: powerhouse of Immunonutrients

Functional foods are those foods which are capable of imparting a therapeutic benefit to the consumer. 

- Dr. Kanika Chowdhary

In addition to the basic human nutrition, they provide extra benefits in the portion consumed. Dietary fibre is one such example of functional foods. Dietary fibres comes under the category of prebiotic carbon-rich foods. The regular consumption of dietary fibre positively influences the overall human health. At the cellular level, prebiotically-induced proliferation of beneficial microbial strains alters the gut microbiome residing in the cellular wall. Some of the noteworthy effects of dietary fibre include reduced risk of tumour and constipation, hypercholesterolemia, diabetes and obesity (Green et al., 2020).

The worldwide production of marine macroalgae has been estimated to be >36 million tonnes corresponding to USD 15 billion. Amongst Southern Asian countries, China and India have largest cultivation of seaweeds. In developing countries, the majority of seaweed farming activities are carried out by women and their involvement is quite complex. In south Asian regions, seaweed farming is carried out as family-owned businesses. Kelps are the most commonly cultivated seaweed in developed countries. Some of the highly cultivated and economically significant seaweeds are Eucheuma sp., Gracilaria sp., Kappaphycus sp., and Ulva sp. Around 97% of the seaweed production comes from aquaculture and barely 3% comes from harvesttaion of wild populations. The seaweed industry is spread across 48 countries and financially supports approximately 6 million small scale farmers.