Nutritional and Human Healthcare Aspects of Ulva Lactuca

According to the report of FAO, 2017, global aquaculture production of seaweeds is around 28.5 million metric tons, valuing in US$4.46 billion. Generally seaweeds are used primarily as a source of thickening and gelling agents in food, pharmaceutical and biomedical industrial applications. However, these marine organisms possess and exhibit a lot of original and interesting diversified biochemical properties essentially required in human nutrition point of view. It is noteworthy to understand that seaweeds and seaweed products have been used not only as a staple food supplement, but also as source of ingredients of traditional medicine, in Japan, Korea and China since prehistoric times. Interestingly, in India, it has been a regular practice for the coastal livelihood to use marine seaweeds as medicine for treatment various health ailments such as ulcer, hepatitis, cardiovascular diseases, neurological disorders, etc. Nowadays seaweeds have become a nutrient rich vegetarian diet (fresh or dried) and an important source of ingredients in various food formulations and supplements (1). Recently, scientific research is exerting more attention on applications of seaweeds in the field of health food, medicines, pharmaceuticals, textiles, fertilizers, animal feed etc. due to their potentiality as valuable source of nutrients and bioactive molecules of human healthcare importance. The major nutritive value of seaweeds is due to their high mineral (iodine, calcium) and soluble dietary fiber contents, the occurrence of vitamin B12, n-3 PUFA, functional amino acids and specific components such as astaxanthin, fucoxanthin, βcarotene, fucosterol, phlorotannin, etc (2). Though the human healthcare applications are promising, yet there has been little exploitation and exploration of seaweeds in human nutrition, despite potential industrial and agricultural applications (3). Recently, the aquaculture production of Ulva lactuca, an edible green macro alga is gaining importance all along the southern coastline of India owing to its higher commercial value and industrial applications. Ulva is a genus of marine and brackish water green macro algae, which are abundantly present on the coastal line of Indian waters, especially the southern region of India. Globally Ulva Spp. are generally used as source of phycocolloids in fodder and fertilizer industries. It is also having potential applications as ingredients of thickening and gelling agents in food and feed industries (1). The edible seaweed, U. lactuca, is commonly called as “Sea Lettuce”. Interestingly, U. lactuca is one of the main seaweeds authorized for human consumption. This seaweed grows up to 30 cm across with a wide, crinkly, tough, translucent and membranous frond. Though it is commonly attached to stones and rocks, it is capable of easily getting detached in very sheltered conditions to form extensive floating communities. The formation of these free floating dense malts in sea is often termed as “green tides. In comparison to other algal species, U. lactuca is capable of growing relatively at a high rate (up to 35%) in wild as well as in farming conditions (4). Interestingly, this seaweed is capable of tolerating brackish conditions and widely appearing on suitable substrata in estuaries (5). Currently, the research interest on this species has increased due to their rapid cultivable vegetative growth and the presence of high value nutrients and bioactive compounds (6) of industrial applications including human and animal nutrition (7 & 8). The proximate composition of dried U. lactuca is given in the Table 1. The carbohydrate content present was high which constituted around 58%. Abstract Ulva lactuca also called as sea lettuce is having its wide application in the various field of food, pharmaceutical and nutraceuticals. Current article is discussing about the nutritional profiling of U. lactuca, along with the employment of the present seaweed in medical and health aspects. The compounds extracted from this seaweed have exhibited its role as antioxidant, antitumor, anti microbial, antiviral, anti hyperlipidemic etc. It was also reported to play a major role in the area of bioremediation and bioaccumulation of pesticides and heavy metals. Researches are still being carrying out globally to study the application of seaweeds in various field of science and technology.