Eastern Scientist | www.easternscientist.in
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Email: jas3meet@gmail.com, | DOI: 10.0000/es.3106
Abstract
Seaweeds are a natural, renewable source of key macronutrients and micronutrients, upon which extensive research interest has been directed over recent decades. Although their health value has been appreciated long enough in traditional Chinese medicine during the last several decades, only in recent decades have scientific investigations of these organisms developed immensely to affirm their health value. The conditions and procedure for extraction of seaweeds to produce value-added compounds are mostly dependent on the end product. Seaweed thermochemical conversion at elevated temperatures with various solvents (such as water) is designed to produce high-value products with enhanced utilization prospects; however, it is an industrial process with potentially adverse effects on the environment and on the functional characteristics of the products. Recently, different approaches and alternatives have been proposed to optimize the process and performance, as well as be less environmentally harmful. A biorefinery concept is used for addressing economic and environmental disadvantages, to allow less residual production near highly suggested zero waste system. The purpose of this work is to inform about the newly developed methods of seaweeds extractions and the possible use of the extracted components.
Keywords: Seaweeds, , Sustainable technologies, Biorefinery, Food applications
सारांश
समुद्री शैवाल मुख्य मैक्रोन्यूट्रिएंट्स और माइक्रोन्यूट्रिएंट्स का एक प्राकृतिक, नवीकरणीय स्रोत हैं, जिन पर पिछले कुछ दशकों में व्यापक शोध किया गया है। हालांकि पारंपरिक चीनी चिकित्सा में इनके स्वास्थ्य संबंधी महत्व को लंबे समय से सराहा गया है, लेकिन पिछले कुछ दशकों में ही इन जीवों पर वैज्ञानिक जांच में रोग प्रतिरोधक क्षमता मे वृद्धि हुई है, जिससे इनके स्वास्थ्य मूल्य की पुष्टि हुई है। इस कार्य का उद्देश्य समुद्री शैवाल निष्कर्षण की नई विकसित विधियों और निष्कर्षित घटकों के संभावित उपयोग के बारे में जानकारी देना है।
मुख्य शब्द:समुद्री शैवाल, सतत प्रौद्योगिकियाँ, बायो-रिफाइनरी, खाद्य अनुप्रयोग
1-INTRODUCTION
Seaweeds aka
macroalgae are photoautotrophic multicellular algae found in marine beds.
Seaweeds are categorized into three types: Brown Algae (Phaeophyceae), Red Algae (Rhodophyta), and Green Algae
(Chlorophyta) with a variable nutritional value and use. Seaweeds are laden
with both macro and micronutrients, have high proteins, vitamins, and minerals
and hence are a healthy food. Seaweed culture can be developed in the green way
without overextending the available freshwater resources and agricultural land
to meet ecologic goals. Seaweeds are also used on an industrial scale for their
use in foods, drugs, cosmetics, and agriculture and are reported to have more
to offer towards health-protective action and food functionality.
1.1 Overview
Bioactive
compounds are low quantities of chemicals present in the biomass but which
exhibit biological activity in the body to ensure good health. The majority of
the bioactive compounds fall under the category of high-value products to be
applied in food, feed, cosmetics, and the pharmaceutical sector.
Certain
bioactive and other nutritional plant components may be referred to as biomass
extractives, i.e., foreign material excluding water-insoluble cell wall
components from the viewpoint of being in solubility in neutral organic solvent
or water.
Marine
macroalgae have a range of bioactive compounds which, owing to projected
application in the field of pharmacy, industry, and nutrition, are of some
interest.
1.2 The Role of Seaweeds in Food and Industry
Seaweeds are
gaining more significance as they have a humongous role to be played in terms
of nutrition and other things.
Seaweeds are
nutritionally affluent with plenty of necessary macro and
micronutrients
such as proteins, vitamins (vitamin B12 and vitamin C), and minerals such as
iodine, calcium, and iron.
They bear
their newly bioactive molecules such as polysaccharides, phenolics, and
antioxidants which are credited with being behind their therapeutic effect on
health as anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antimicrobial making them most
sought-after functional foods and supplements. Seaweeds are used as masse
in food industry as natural gelling
agents, stabilizers, and thickeners due to such molecules as carrageenan,
alginate, and agar. They are employed in medicine, cosmetics, and agriculture
as organic growth stimulants and fertilizers.
Sustainable
seaweed cultivation is environmentally friendly because they never need
freshwater and land and are sources of food security and economic development
and to stimulation of nature balance. Seaweeds in the majority of cases are a
source of diet supplement as well as multi-dimensional industrial utilization.
1.3 Recent Trends in Seaweed Production
Seaweeds'
world production has expanded enormously over the last two decades, and they
have been publicized as food, medicine, and in every industry.
Macroalgae
production grew more than three times from approximately 10 million tons to 30 million tons during the 2000-2016
period. The boom is largely synonymous with the widespread trend of seaweed
culture and utilization in East and Southeast Asia, where over 291 species are
utilized as food, feed, fertilizers, and industrial commodities. China and
Indonesia are the dominant producers currently and command a high percent
market share in global seaweed production.
Higher
international demand for seaweeds is due to their good nutrition, Western
palate taste, and application as green commodities to counteract international
food shortages. Higher applications of seaweed products like hydrocolloids with
applications in the food and cosmetics industry are also contributing further
to trends in production. Seaweed farming is hence also going to rise even more,
which corresponds to international sustainability and the green utilization of
resources trend.
1.4 Chemical Composition
Seaweed
chemical composition is also species and environment-controlled. Some of the
most common seaweeds include:
•
Polysaccharides: Material forming structure and storage of energy in varying
proportions in varying seaweeds occurs as polysaccharides. Brown seaweed
contains fucoidans and alginates, elvan contains red seaweed, and green seaweed
contains agar.
• Proteins:
Proteins also consist of seaweeds and are full of essential amino acids. The
structure of the protein varies for the variety of seaweed since there is some
part of the red seaweed whose protein structure is similar to normal protein
material.
• Vitamins:
Seaweeds contain some fat-soluble such as (A, D, E, K) and water-soluble
vitamins (B1, B2, B9, B12), and all are necessary for human health.
• Minerals:
They have high minerals like iodine, calcium, potassium, and iron in very high
concentration compared to land plants.
• Lipids:
While generally low in lipids as an organism, the seaweeds consist of the
omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids that are nearly value of health human beings.
These
molecules are the basis for functional characteristics and nutritional content
of seaweeds and render them useful in an utterly enormous range of food,
medicine, and cosmetics.
The process enhances the mass transfer and
recovery of the target compound and thus yields higher extraction yields within
shorter time compared to the conventional processes. PSE is applied to extract
different analytes such as polysaccharides, phenolics, and amino acids.
However, high pressure and temperature used result in equipment cost and safety
concerns.
SEAWEED
CLASSIFICATION AND CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
Fig 1: The image depicts a flowchart
for a process involving initial treatment and extraction methods.
2.1 Classification of Seaweeds
are commonly grouped into two categories based
on colour as well as on the structural attributes which they possess:
1. Brown Seaweeds (Phaeophyceae):
Brown
seaweeds are identified differently from each other due to their brown pigment,
for which they are responsible in essence using fucoxanthin pigment, secondary
to chlorophyll a and c. Brown seaweeds are heat-loving in origin and belong to
the Laminaria, Sargassum, and Fucus family. Brown seaweeds are polysaccharide
algae and incorporate alginates, laminarins, and fucoidans whose role in
industries is well established due to the series of products found in food
thickening and gelation.
2. Green Seaweeds (Chlorophyta):
Green seaweeds are green because of the dominance
of chlorophyll a and b, which cover other pigments like carotenoids, and live
in shallow water and are an indicator of some like Ulva and Caulerpa. Green
seaweeds have proteins and polysaccharides like ulvan, which are of interest
because of their thickening and gel properties in the food and drug
GREEN SEAWED
3.1 Fractionation Processes
Fractionation
processes play a vital role in efficient recovery of bioactive compound from seaweeds.
Fractionation processes commonly involve some sequential operations:
1.Raw
Material Pre-treatment: The initial process might be drying, grinding, or
chemical treatment for pre-treating the seaweed prior to extraction.
Pre-treatment could allow target compound access by cell wall disintegration or
alteration of the biomass physical properties.
2. Extraction: The
extraction process may be carried out using various types, either single-step
or multi-step types. Extraction method types depends on the chemical properties
of the bioactive compounds desired.
3. Separation
and Concentration: After extraction of the compounds, the extraction solvent
and the desired compounds along with other compounds must be separated and
concentrated. Evaporation, filtering, or centrifugation can be used to remove
the solvent and other compounds.
3.2 Shortcomings of Current Extraction Methods
Current
methods of extraction have some shortcomings in the sense that:
•High Energy
Requirement: There is a lot of energy input during classical methods, hence
they are unsustainable.
•Application
of Solvents: Most extraction methods apply organic solvents, which impose
environmental toxicity in addition to possible health threats.
•Extended
Times of Extraction: Conventionally, an interval of hours to days passes prior
to the attainment of maximum yield, a phenomenon that is not desirable
industrially.
•Degradation
of Compounds: Delicate bioactive compounds are subjected to degradation by
harsh extraction conditions such as temperature and increased exposure.
• Waste
Production: Huge amounts of waste are generated through most traditional
methods of extraction, resulting in environmental issues concerning disposal
and sustainability.
Fig 2: Ultrasound-assisted extraction of
carrageenan.
Traditional
methods of extraction are predominantly available in industry to extract
bioactive compounds from seaweeds. They are
• Infusion: Immersion
of seaweed in a solvent to extract soluble compounds.
• Percolation: Repeated flow of solvent continuously
through the seaweed material for the extraction of compounds.
• Soxhlet Extraction: Recycling of the solvent a number of times to get maximum extraction
efficiency.
• Maceration: Seaweed
cutting and letting it soak in solvent for chemical extraction.
• Steam Distillation: Vaporization
of volatile chemicals with the help of steam, which are then condensed to
liquid.
These methods
are mostly efficient but may turn out to be a less efficient or eco-friendly
process available.
Solid-Liquid Extractions
Solid-liquid
extraction is the movement of soluble contents from solid seaweed to a liquid
solvent. The efficiency of the process is reliant on:
- Solvent Selection: The chemical character and polarity of the
solvent are determinants in the efficiency of the extraction of individual
compounds.
- Temperature and Time: High temperature may be utilized to
increase extraction rates but will lead to degradation of labile compounds.
Extraction time must be optimized for each and every situation.
- Physical State of Seaweed: Seaweed particle size and surface area of
particles may affect mass transfer and extraction yield.
4. BIOPROCESS
BIOMASS EXTRACTION PROJECTS –
CASE STUDIES
UNRAVEL Project
UNRAVEL
(Unlocking the Potential of Biobased Value Chains) valorisation and sustainable
extraction of bioactive compounds from various biomass sources such as trees
and crop residues.
Aims: To
unravel efficient processes of bioactive compounds extraction, such as betulin
from a birch tree, for example. To design value chains for facilitating the
utilization of biomass for food, cosmetics, and pharma.
• Methodology
Novel
extraction techniques such as supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) and
microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) for achieving maximum energy efficiency and
purity maximization to achieve maximum bioactive.
Increased
sustainability through waste minimization and energy savings.
• Result:
•
Maximum yield of betulin and other key compounds, which is evidence of
feasibility in high-value production from low-value biomass.
Figure 4: It
is a 3D response surface and contour plots of temperature and number of cycles'
influence on extractives and number of cycles.
Overview:
SteamBioAfrica project is to optimize the utilization of the biomass resources
of Africa via the utilization of new and novel extraction technologies.
Objectives
• Integrated
installation of improved and upgraded steam explosion technology for recovery
of bioactive contents from diverse biomass sources of forest tree plantations
and agricultural residues.
• Enhance
bioconversion of local biomass to bioproducts and bioenergy.
Methodology:
• Employed
steam explosion as a pretreatment process to render cellulose and hemicellulose
available for final recovery of bioactive.
• Altered
based on recovery of phenolic, flavonoid, and other bioactive contents.
Results
• Enhanced
efficiency of extraction and yield of required compounds, which will result in
the creation of sustainable bioproducts and bioenergy solutions for Africa.
3. Bioactive Profiling
of Tropical Trees
Summary:
Project work is tropical tree species bioactive compound bioactive profiling
and extraction for potential use and therapeutic use preserved for the purpose
of collecting information of tropical tree bioactive compounds and determining
their bioactivity.
To develop extraction techniques which will
have high without loss of integrity of bioactive compounds.
Methodology:
• Employed
different extraction methods such as solvent extraction, cold pressing, and
enzymatic extraction to isolate bioactive.
• Performed
bioactivity tests to ascertain the health impact of the isolated compound.
Results:
• Potential
bioactive compounds like flavonoids, tannins, and terpenes that were discovered
to be promising in nutraceuticals, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics were
purified.
Figure 6:
Blank Chromatographic Analysis, it is a blank chromatographic analysis which is
unknown. It was scanned with a UV-Vis spectrometer and data was shown in three
ways: Chromatogram,3D Chromatogram, Spectra.
4.1 Alternative Extraction Techniques
In order to
reduce the reliance on traditional methods, a range of alternative methods have
been devised:
1. Microwave-Assisted Extraction (MAE)
MAE uses
microwave radiation to heat the seaweed matrix very quickly. Action mechanism
of the process is localized heating due to friction of molecules, which may
rupture the cell walls and further increase the expulsion of bioactive
metabolites. MAE is quick (with a tendency to recover compounds within a few
minutes) and economical, using a smaller amount of solvent compared to
conventional techniques. It could be inappropriate for thermolabile compounds
that tend to degrade at elevated temperatures.
2.
Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction:
They use
high-frequency ultrasonic waves to create cavitation bubbles in the extraction
solvent. Bubble implosion creates micro-turbulence responsible for deeper
solvent penetration and mass transfer, increasing the yield of extraction. UAE
is comparatively faster and energy-requiring than conventional methods. UAE has
been proved to efficiently extract phenolics, proteins, and polysaccharides
from all types of seaweed.
3. Enzyme-Assisted Extraction (EAE)
EAE makes use
of certain enzymes in decomposing the seaweed cell walls for liberating the bioactive
components. EAE is green technology in nature because it refrains from making
use of poisonous solvents and chemicals. EAE may ensure that extracts with
their bioactivity will remain of good quality and thus make an application
viable for the purpose of use in foods, cosmetics, and pharmacy.
4.Supercritical Fluid Extraction (SFE)
SFE employs a
supercritical carbon dioxide (CO2) solvent, and this has special
characteristics to penetrate solid matrices like a gas but to dissolve
substances like a liquid. The process is effective in the separation of
non-polar compounds and is also a green process as CO2, being recyclable, can
be reused. Nevertheless, equipment and operation cost may be a setback to its
widespread use.
5. Pressurized Solvent Extraction (PSE)
PSE is where
the solvent is heated above its boiling point but maintained in the liquid
state under high pressure.
5. SEAWEED FOOD APPLICATIONS
-Historical
Context of Seaweed Consumption
• Seaweed has been utilized by
people for hundreds of years in different societies globally.
•It has been
used since time immemorial in the East Asian region, specifically in Japan,
Korea, and China.
•Seaweed was
used in traditional foods and diets, which shows just how common it was in
coastal regions.
•Seaweed was
a major source of nutrients and necessary nutrients during the past.
-Technological
and Nutritional Applications
•Seaweed is
being used more and more for its technological and nutritional uses in
contemporary food systems.
•Seaweed
extracts and bioactive have a number of properties, including:
•Antioxidant
activity
•Anti-inflammatory
properties
•Antimicrobial
activity
•Potential
health effects on gut health, cardiovascular health, etc.
•The
properties have made it useful for use in food products as:
•Natural
colourants and flavourings
•Texturizers
•Stabilizers
•Functional
ingredients with nutritional value and health effects.
6. CONCLUSION
The process
of extraction should take into account recovery yield ,Factors such as
temperature, pH, duration, volume and composition of the solvent, along with
the procedure method.
The
conventional process applied for treatment of seaweed hydrocolloid is solvent
extraction, where at high temperature and longer extraction time the
polysaccharides degrade. Green extraction processes could be applied in
conjunction with hydrocolloid extraction, where they are effective,
solvent-saving, and with shorter extraction time. The process is capable of
recovering seaweed bioactive Compounds effectively and successfully with
optimal utilization.
7.ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Author wishes to convey their gratitude.
sincere thanks to the Parul Institute of Applied Sciences for providing the
sufficient infrastructure, research facility, and intellectual input required,
which have added worth to the proper fulfilment of this review. Proximity of
such infrastructural facilities has been found to be the major cause of
enabling proper and sufficient research work on the processes of seaweed
extraction.
This
follow-up research is based on collective effort and research work by
researchers in this field of work, and I particularly appreciate their pioneer
efforts that laid solid foundations for the follow-up research. Their profound
research and pioneer efforts have presented us with luscious data worth its
weight that had bearing on the scope of research.
I want to
express my gratitude to my colleagues as well. fellow researchers, and scholars
whose insightful discussions, reflective comments, and intellectual debates
added depth, richness, and complexity to this research. Their group scholarship
and culture of wisdom as a whole have been a precious gem in refining big ideas
and broadening the book's analytical horizon.
In addition I would want to express my
gratitude to my academic mentors and supervisors for their invaluable
guidance and tireless efforts that have
taken my scientific research approach to new levels. Their passion and dedication
towards excellence have been a source of inspiration throughout.
Lastly, I
would also appreciate thanking friends and relatives for support,
encouragement, and perseverance throughout the study duration. Their absolute
faith in me has been an encouraging warm hug, eliciting emotional and ethical
motivation throughout the learning process.
It is the
result of collaborative work of many, and I am highly indebted to all who have
helped shape it.
8. REFRENCES
1.Ale, M. T.,
& Meyer, A. S. (2013). Fucoidans from brown seaweeds: An update on
structures, extraction techniques and use of enzymes as tools for structural
elucidation. Rsc Advances, 3(22), 8131-8141.
2. Ale, M.
T., Mikkelsen, J. D., & Meyer, A. S. (2011). Important determinants for
fucoidan bioactivity: A critical review of structure-function relations and
extraction methods for fucose-containing sulphated polysaccharides from brown
seaweeds. Marine drugs, 9(10), 2106-2130.
3.Arioli, T.,
Mattner, S. W., & Winberg, P. C. (2015). Applications of seaweed extracts
in Australian agriculture: past, present and future. Journal of applied
phycology, 27, 2007-2015.
4.Benslima,
A., Sellimi, S., Hamdi, M., Nasri, R., Jridi, M., Cot, D., ... & Zouari, N.
(2021). The brown seaweed Cystoseira schiffneri as a source of sodium alginate:
Chemical and structural characterization, and antioxidant activities. Food
Bioscience, 40, 100873.
5.Bertagnolli,
C., Da Silva, M. G. C., & Guibal, E. (2014). Chromium biosorption using the
residue of alginate extraction from Sargassum filipendula. Chemical
Engineering Journal, 237, 362-371.
6.Dulanlebit,
Y. H., & Hernani, H. (2023). Overview of extraction methods for extracting
seaweed and its applications. Jurnal Penelitian Pendidikan IPA, 9(2),
817-824.
7.Chee, S.
Y., Wong, P. K., & Wong, C. L. (2011). Extraction and characterisation of
alginate from brown seaweeds (Fucales, Phaeophyceae) collected from Port
Dickson, Peninsular Malaysia. Journal of applied phycology, 23,
191-196.
8.Chen, Z.,
Gu, G., Li, S., Wang, C., & Zhu, R. (2018). The effect of seaweed glue in
the separation of copper– molybdenum sulphide ore by flotation. Minerals, 8(2),
41.
9. Din, S.
S., Chew, K. W., Chang, Y. K., Show, P. L., Phang, S. M., & Juan, J. C.
(2019). Extraction of agar from Eucheuma cottonii and Gelidium amansii seaweeds
with sonication pretreatment using autoclaving method. Journal of
Oceanology and Limnology, 37(3), 871-880.
10. Godlewska, K., Michalak, I.,
Tuhy, Ł., & Chojnacka, K. (2016). Plant growth biostimulants based on
different methods of seaweed extraction with water. BioMed research
international, 2016(1), 5973760.
11. Godlewska, K., Michalak, I.,
Tuhy, Ł., & Chojnacka, K. (2017). The influence of pH of extracting water
on the composition of seaweed extracts and their beneficial properties on
Lepidium sativum. BioMed research international, 2017(1),
7248634.
12.
Hernández-Herrera, R. M., Santacruz-Ruvalcaba, F., Ruiz-López, M. A., Norrie,
J., & Hernández-Carmona, G. (2014). Effect of liquid seaweed extracts on
growth of tomato seedlings (Solanum lycopersicum L.). Journal of
applied phycology, 26, 619-628.
13. Hernández-Herrera, R. M.,
Santacruz-Ruvalcaba, F., Zañudo-Hernández, J., & Hernández-Carmona, G.
(2016). Activity of seaweed extracts and polysaccharide-enriched extracts from
Ulva lactuca and Padina gymnospora as growth promoters of tomato and mung bean
plants. Journal of applied phycology, 28, 2549-2560.
14. Cotas,
J., Leandro, A., Monteiro, P., Pacheco, D., Figueirinha, A., Gonçalves, A. M.,
... & Pereira, L. (2020). Seaweed phenolics: From extraction to
applications. Marine drugs, 18(8), 384.
How to Cite this Article :
Mukharjee, A. (2025).Unlocking Seaweed's potential : New Seaweed Extraction Techniques and Applications. Eastern Scientist.
https://www.easternscientist.in/2025/06/unlocking-seaweeds-potential-new.html
Article Views :
Related Articles
Posts
1 Comments