Pharmacological Importance of Seaweeds: A Review

Seas and oceans represent a big store for beneficial algae. It is a real fact that the importance of marine organisms as a source of new substances is growing. With marine species comprising approximately a half of the total global biodiversity, the sea offers an enormous resource for novel compounds and it is classified as the largest remaining reservoir of natural molecules to be evaluated for drug activity. A very different kind of substances have been obtained from marine organisms among other reasons because they are living in a very exigent, competitive and aggressive surrounding very different in many aspects from the terrestrial environment, a situation that demands the production of quite specific and potent active molecules. The present review is focusing on the following topics: Seaweeds in India, nutritional and medicinal values of seaweeds, antimicrobial activity of seaweeds and uses of seaweeds.