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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to From Ocean to Medicine: Harnessing Seaweed’s Potential for Drug Development
ClearRehashing Our Insight of Seaweeds as a Potential Source of Foods, Nutraceuticals, and Pharmaceuticals
This review summarizes research on seaweed as a source of beneficial compounds including antioxidants, anti-inflammatory agents, and other health-promoting substances. While not directly about microplastics, the research is relevant because seaweeds grow in marine environments increasingly contaminated with microplastics. Understanding the health benefits of seaweed also requires considering the potential risks of microplastic contamination in these marine food sources.
Compounds of Marine Origin with Possible Applications as Healing Agents
This paper is not relevant to microplastics research; it reviews bioactive compounds from marine organisms and their potential applications in wound healing and cosmetic formulations, with no focus on plastic contamination.
Marine Ecological Well-Being and the Development of Human Health Through Marine Natural Products and Nutraceuticals
This review examines the balance between marine ecological health and the development of nutraceuticals and functional foods from ocean species. The study discusses how pollution including microplastics threatens marine ecosystems while also covering the bioactive compounds from marine organisms that show potential antioxidant, cardio-protective, and neuroprotective properties.
Exploring Seaweed Cultivation in the Marine Environment and Its Interaction with Microplastic
This review examines interactions between seaweed cultivation in marine environments and microplastic pollution, exploring how seaweed can both accumulate microplastics and potentially be used in bioremediation strategies to reduce plastic contamination in coastal waters.
Seaweeds and Corals from the Brazilian Coast: Review on Biotechnological Potential and Environmental Aspects
This is a biotechnology review covering the pharmaceutical and nutraceutical potential of Brazilian seaweeds and corals, noting as context that microplastic bioaccumulation in these organisms poses environmental risks; it is not primarily a microplastics research paper.
Microplastics contamination in seaweed: impacts on human health and mitigation approaches
This review found that microplastics contaminate many types of edible seaweed, with fibers and fragments being the most common forms. Since seaweed is consumed worldwide, these microplastics can enter the human body and potentially cause oxidative damage, cell toxicity, and neurotoxicity. More research is needed to fully understand the health risks of eating microplastic-contaminated seaweed.
Bioactive Compound and Functional Properties of Sea Cucumbers as Nutraceutical Products
This review examines the nutritional and bioactive compounds found in sea cucumbers, including proteins, collagen, and omega-3 fatty acids that have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. While not directly about microplastics, sea cucumbers are bottom-dwelling filter feeders that are highly exposed to microplastic contamination in ocean sediments. As sea cucumbers are increasingly used in supplements and food products, their potential to accumulate microplastics raises concerns about another route of human exposure.
Saving the pharmacy of the sea: How does global change affect species with bioactive potential in the Mediterranean?
This study examined how human activities — including pollution, fishing, and climate change — threaten Mediterranean marine species that produce potentially useful bioactive compounds. Microplastic contamination is among the stressors affecting these species and their ability to produce molecules of pharmaceutical interest.
Microplastic stress induce bioresource production and response in microalgae: a concise review
This review examines how microplastic stress influences bioresource production in microalgae, covering the pathways by which exposure to microplastics induces oxidative stress responses including lipid accumulation and antioxidant enzyme production. Researchers found that microplastic-induced stress can paradoxically enhance production of industrially and pharmaceutically valuable compounds while also stimulating microplastic removal capacity in aquatic ecosystems.
Seaweed as a sink for microplastic contamination: Uptake, identifications and food safety implications
This review examines how seaweed, a widely consumed food, absorbs and accumulates microplastics from ocean water. Research shows seaweed can account for up to 45.5% of total dietary microplastic intake in some regions, with particularly high levels in South Asia. The findings are concerning for human health because seaweed is eaten directly and is also increasingly used in health supplements and food additives.
Persian Gulf Bivalves: Bioactive Pharmaceutical Compounds and Biomedical Applications
This review covers the bioactive compounds found in bivalves from the Persian Gulf and their potential pharmaceutical and medical applications. Bivalves are relevant to microplastic research because they filter large volumes of water and accumulate microplastics and associated chemicals in their tissues. This paper focuses on medicinal compounds rather than contamination.
An Overview of the Alternative Use of Seaweeds to Produce Safe and Sustainable Bio-Packaging
This review explores how compounds derived from seaweed, particularly polysaccharides like alginates and carrageenans, can be used to create biodegradable packaging as an alternative to conventional plastics. Researchers found that seaweed-based biopolymers offer both functional packaging properties and potential health benefits, while avoiding the microplastic pollution caused by petroleum-based plastics. The approach represents a promising step toward reducing ocean plastic contamination by replacing single-use plastics with marine-sourced biodegradable materials.
Marine Natural Products: A Source of Novel Anticancer Drugs
This review explores marine natural products as potential sources for new anticancer drugs, highlighting compounds derived from marine plants, algae, bacteria, fungi, and invertebrates. Researchers found that marine organisms produce diverse bioactive metabolites with unique chemical structures that show promise against cancer cells. The study underscores the ocean as a largely untapped reservoir of compounds that could lead to novel therapeutic approaches.
Ecosystem Services Provided by Seaweeds
This review summarizes the many ecosystem services that seaweeds provide, including food production, carbon storage, water filtration, and habitat for marine life. Seaweeds can also help combat pollution by absorbing heavy metals and other contaminants from the water. The review is relevant to microplastics research because healthy seaweed ecosystems may play a role in filtering microplastics from ocean water, and damage to these ecosystems could worsen marine plastic pollution.
The micro(nano)plastics perspective: exploring cancer development and therapy
This review explores the emerging link between microplastics and cancer development. Microplastics can trigger chronic inflammation, oxidative stress, and hormone disruption, all of which are known pathways that may promote cancer growth. Interestingly, researchers are also studying whether engineered microplastics could be used as drug carriers for cancer therapy, though long-term effects remain unclear.
Food safety in the seaweed food supply chain : Inventory of production, consumption and chemical and physical hazards
This Dutch food safety report inventories the chemical and physical hazards — including microplastics — present in seaweed cultivated for human consumption. As the seaweed food market grows, understanding contamination risks including plastic particles is important for protecting consumer health.
Seaweed Polysaccharide in Food Contact Materials (Active Packaging, Intelligent Packaging, Edible Films, and Coatings)
This review examines how seaweed-based polysaccharides are being developed as alternatives to conventional plastics for food packaging applications, including active packaging, intelligent packaging, and edible coatings. Researchers found that these natural materials can extend food shelf life by providing antimicrobial and antioxidant properties while being biodegradable. The study highlights seaweed polysaccharides as a promising sustainable alternative to petroleum-based plastic packaging in the food industry.
Predicting the Composition and Mechanical Properties of Seaweed Bioplastics from the Scientific Literature: A Machine Learning Approach for Modeling Sparse Data
This paper is not relevant to microplastics research — it applies machine learning to predict the mechanical properties of seaweed-based bioplastic films, focusing on biodegradable material design rather than microplastic pollution or its health effects.
Microplastics in marine-derived traditional Chinese medicine, potential threat to patients
Researchers detected microplastics in all nine types of marine-derived traditional Chinese medicines tested, with abundances ranging from 0.07 to 9.53 items per gram, representing the first documented evidence of microplastic contamination in these widely consumed medicinal products.
Food packaging based on biodegradable polymers from seaweeds: a systematic review
This systematic review examines the use of seaweed-based biodegradable polymers as alternatives to conventional plastic food packaging. The research explores how seaweed materials can provide effective food packaging while breaking down naturally in the environment. Replacing petroleum-based plastics with biodegradable alternatives is one strategy for reducing the microplastic pollution that enters our food and water.
A review on health benefits of marine based neutraceuticals on pancreatic cancer
This review examined health benefits of marine-based nutraceuticals for pancreatic cancer prevention and treatment, finding that bioactive compounds from marine organisms show anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antitumor properties with potential to complement therapies for this highly treatment-resistant malignancy.
Role of nutraceutical against exposure to pesticide residues: power of bioactive compounds
This review explores how nutraceuticals, which are health-promoting compounds found in foods like fruits, vegetables, and spices, might help protect the body against damage from pesticide exposure. The bioactive compounds, including antioxidants and polyphenols, can support detoxification and repair cellular damage caused by environmental toxins. While focused on pesticides, this approach is relevant to microplastic exposure because microplastics carry pesticides and other chemicals into the body, and dietary interventions could potentially help mitigate some of their harmful effects.
Protective Effect of Chlorella vulgaris and Spirulina platensis against ThioacetamideInduced Hepatorenal Toxicity in Male Rats
This paper is not directly about microplastics — it evaluates whether the microalgae Chlorella vulgaris and Spirulina platensis can protect against liver and kidney toxicity caused by thioacetamide in rats, finding significant protective effects via antioxidant mechanisms.
Contribution of seaweed farming to the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions and microplastics pollution
Researchers reviewed how seaweed farming can help fight two major environmental problems: seaweed absorbs CO2 from the atmosphere without competing for agricultural land, and seaweed-derived polymers can be used to make biodegradable plastics that break down without generating persistent microplastics. Scaling up seaweed-based bioplastics remains limited by production costs, but the potential environmental benefits make further research worthwhile.