Sea Moss In Pharma World: A Perspective
Because of the potential that it has shown in the lab, sea moss is currently one of the trendiest research topics. Many studies have focused on determining the potential of sea moss from different angles. The pharmaceutical applications of sea moss make it an interesting reading, so we will highlight some of its most notable pharmaceutical applications in this brief.
What Does History Tell Us?
Many species of sea moss have traditionally been used as pharmaceutical agents. Take the example of species such as Laminaria spp. used in Japanese folk medicine to lower blood pressure. Then, there was dear old Fucus vesiculosus, used as an anti-goiter and weight loss agent. Not only that but Fucus was also considered a potent agent for the treatment of sore knees and found a role in herbal teas. As you can see, sea moss has been used for a long time!
What Does Research Tell Us?
Now, let us have a look at the pharmaceutical applications of sea moss:
1- The Kappaphycus species from Rhodophyta demonstrated an antitumoral activity against different types of cancer.
2- Genus Laurencia species produces metabolites which have demonstrated in vitro activity against an acute lymphoblastic leukemia cell line.
3- Undaria pinnatifida from Phaeophyceae has beneficial anti-inflammatory properties.
4- Ulva rigida studies have suggested a protective role for sea moss against chemotherapeutic agents such as mitomycin-C.
5- Certain studies have focused on seaweed’s neuroprotective profile as well. Neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease.
Final Thoughts
Different bioactive compounds found in different types of Sea moss make them eligible candidates for further research. Now, this one is just an overview of the massive potential that sea moss is enriched with. As we have just seen, sea moss's bioactive potential (read pharmaceutical potential) is enormous. Using these bioactive compounds cleverly can open up new avenues of research in the biomedical field. Now, we understand that to overview all the studies in this line of research comprehensively; we will probably need several books. Unfortunately, we have run out of space and time for this brief! So, it’s farewell from us for now! But n light of what we have just shared with you in this brief, perhaps ordering a sea moss supplement from Herbal Vineyards wouldn’t be a bad idea; what do you reckon?
References
A combined Phase I and II open-label study on the immunomodulatory effects of seaweed extract nutrient complex. Available at: https://www.dovepress.com/a-combined-phase-i-and-ii-open-label-study-on-the-immunomodulatory-eff-peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-BTT
Community herbal monograph on Fucus vesiculosus L., thallus. Available at: https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/documents/herbal-monograph/final-community-herbal-monograph-fucus-vesiculosus-l-thallus_en.pdf
Seaweeds from Vietnam used for functional food, medicine and biofertilizer. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10811-007-9228-x#citeas
In Vitro Cytotoxic Activity of Laurencia papillosa, Marine Red Algae from the Lebanese Coast. https://japsonline.com/abstract.php?article_id=2208
In vitro Antigenotoxicity of Ulva rigida C. Agardh (Chlorophyceae) Extract against Induction of Chromosome Aberration, Sister Chromatid Exchange and Micronuclei by Mutagenic Agent MMC. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0895398809600088?via%3Dihub
