• Arumugam Abirami
• Selvaraj Uthra
• Muthuvel Arumugam

ABSTRACT Seaweed shows extensive species diversity with inevitable ecological importance on marine biodiversity. It creates a unique marine ecosystem that acts as a shelter or nursery ground for marine organisms. Moreover, seaweeds are considered as vital sea food due to their richness of various food ingredients such as polysaccharides, dietary fiber, amino acids, minerals and vitamins, etc. They are available in different colors due to the presence of distinct pigments such as chlorophyll, fucoxanthin and phycoerythrin. In traditional Indian medical system, the dried or processed seaweeds are consumed as promising natural medicine for the treatment of various ailments. Seaweed contains various polyphenolic substances such as phlorotannins, phloroglucinol, eckol, dieckol, fucodiphloroethol, 7-phloroeckol, phlorofucofuroeckol and bieckol, which play a major role in human health. The preclinical studies proved that these compounds possess antimicrobial, antitumor, antioxidant activities and also reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases. The present review deals with the nutritional value of seaweed and the importance of polyphenolic substances.

Key words: Seaweeds, phytochemistry, functional foods, polyphenolics, health benefits.

"NUTRITIONAL VALUE OF SEAWEEDS AND THEIR POTENTIAL PHARMACOLOGICAL ROLE OF POLYPHENOLICS SUBSTANCES: A REVIEW", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.5, Issue 8, page no.930-939, August-2018, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR1808137.pdf

"NUTRITIONAL VALUE OF SEAWEEDS AND THEIR POTENTIAL PHARMACOLOGICAL ROLE OF POLYPHENOLICS SUBSTANCES: A REVIEW", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.5, Issue 8, page no. pp930-939, August-2018, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR1808137.pdf