Current Trends on Seaweeds: Looking at Chemical Composition, Phytopharmacology, and Cosmetic Applications

Seaweeds have received huge interest in recent years given their promising potentialities.Their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antitumor, hypolipemic, and anticoagulant effects are amongthe most renowned and studied bioactivities so far, and these effects have been increasinglyassociated with their content and richness in both primary and secondary metabolites. Althoughprimary metabolites have a pivotal importance such as their content in polysaccharides (fucoidans,agars, carragenans, ulvans, alginates, and laminarin), recent data have shown that the content insome secondary metabolites largely determines the effective bioactive potential of seaweeds.Among these secondary metabolites, phenolic compounds feature prominently. The present reviewprovides the most remarkable insights into seaweed research, specifically addressing its chemicalcomposition, phytopharmacology, and cosmetic applications.