Cited by 41Seaweed-derived Bioactive CompoundsAlgal biology and biofuel productionMarine and coastal plant biology

The Potential of Algae in the Nutricosmetic Sector

Open access
Dini, Irene·2023·Molecules

Abstract

Seaweeds or algae are marine autotrophic organisms. They produce nutrients (e.g., proteins, carbohydrates, etc.) essential for the survival of living organisms as they participate in biochemical processes and non-nutritive molecules (such as dietary fibers and secondary metabolites), which can improve their physiological functions. Seaweed polysaccharides, fatty acids, peptides, terpenoids, pigments, and polyphenols have biological properties that can be used to develop food supplements and nutricosmetic products as they can act as antibacterial, antiviral, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory compounds. This review examines the (primary and secondary) metabolites produced by algae, the most recent evidence of their effect on human health conditions, with particular attention to what concerns the skin and hair’s well-being. It also evaluates the industrial potential of recovering these metabolites from biomass produced by algae used to clean wastewater. The results demonstrate that algae can be considered a natural source of bioactive molecules for well-being formulations. The primary and secondary metabolites’ upcycling can be an exciting opportunity to safeguard the planet (promoting a circular economy) and, at the same time, obtain low-cost bioactive molecules for the food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries from low-cost, raw, and renewable materials. Today’s lack of methodologies for recovering bioactive molecules in large-scale processes limits practical realization.

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Crossref · 10.3390/molecules28104032

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  • Bioactives can be obtained from fish and shellfish processing and from seaweeds.

    “In the marine sector, bioactives could be obtained from fish and shellfish processing, as well as from seaweeds [65,142,143].”

    From Use of Waste from the Food Industry and Applications of the Fermentation Process to Create Sustainable Cosmetic Products: A Review (2024) · cites this paper as [142]

    The Introduction and Conclusions identify seaweeds and algae as sources of bioactive molecules, supporting that part of the sentence. The cited paper does not address obtaining bioactives from fish or shellfish processing, so it does not support the full claim. (LLM, conf=0.86)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • Polypeptides from oyster shell can be used as cosmetic ingredients to lighten skin discolorations.

    “Hot-water extraction of pulverized oyster shell gives polypeptides with tyrosinase inhibitory activity; therefore, it can be used as an ingredient of cosmetics that lighten skin discolorations [68,142].”

    From Use of Waste from the Food Industry and Applications of the Fermentation Process to Create Sustainable Cosmetic Products: A Review (2024) · cites this paper as [142]

    Section 6.3, “Algae Metabolites in Skin Whitening Formulations” (page unavailable), discusses tyrosinase-inhibiting compounds from algae as skin-whitening agents. Searches for oyster-shell polypeptides and hot-water extraction found no passage addressing the claimed ingredient or its preparation, so the oyster-shell claim cannot be verified from this paper. (LLM, conf=0.76)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • Hot-water extraction of pulverized oyster shell yields polypeptides with tyrosinase inhibitory activity.

    “Hot-water extraction of pulverized oyster shell gives polypeptides with tyrosinase inhibitory activity; therefore, it can be used as an ingredient of cosmetics that lighten skin discolorations [68,142].”

    From Use of Waste from the Food Industry and Applications of the Fermentation Process to Create Sustainable Cosmetic Products: A Review (2024) · cites this paper as [142]

    Section 6.3 discusses tyrosinase inhibition by algal compounds, and Section 4.3 discusses peptides from seaweeds, but neither addresses oyster shells. Searches for oyster shell, pulverized shell, and hot-water extraction found no passage saying that the claimed extraction yields tyrosinase-inhibiting polypeptides. (LLM, conf=0.76)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • Calcium carbonate from oyster shells can be used as a calcium supplement.

    “Furthermore, calcium carbonate from oyster shells can be used as a calcium supplement [68,142].”

    From Use of Waste from the Food Industry and Applications of the Fermentation Process to Create Sustainable Cosmetic Products: A Review (2024) · cites this paper as [142]

    Section 2 describes mineral-based food supplements generally, while Section 7 discusses uses of macroalgae biomass. Neither addresses calcium carbonate from oyster shells. Searches for “oyster,” “calcium carbonate,” and “calcium supplement” found no passage supporting the specific claim; page numbers were not supplied. (LLM, conf=0.74)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

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Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

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Authors
Dini, I.
Affiliations
University of Naples Federico II (IT)
Corresponding author
Dini, Irene
Venue
Molecules
Publisher
MDPI AG
Published
2023-05-11
Volume
28
Issue
10
Pages
4032
ISSN
1420-3049 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W4378515163
Cited by
41
References
253
Citations by year
2026: 9 · 2025: 13 · 2024: 15 · 2023: 4
FWCI
1.04
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Molecules (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Aquatic Science › Seaweed-derived Bioactive Compounds
  • Physical Sciences › Energy › Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment › Algal biology and biofuel production
  • Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Oceanography › Marine and coastal plant biology
Keywords
algae, seaweed, nutricosmetics, bioactive metabolites, seaweed polysaccharides, fatty acids, peptides, terpenoids, pigments, polyphenols, antioxidant activity, anti-inflammatory activity, dietary supplements, upcycling, circular economy, renewable raw materials
MeSH terms
Carbohydrates, Humans, Polysaccharides, Seaweed, Dietary Supplements, Aquatic Organisms

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