title: Marine polysaccharides from algae with potential biomedical applications.
abstract: There is a current tendency towards bioactive natural products with applications in various industries, such as pharmaceutical, biomedical, cosmetics and food. This has put some emphasis in research on marine organisms, including macroalgae and microalgae, among others. Polysaccharides with marine origin constitute one type of these biochemical compounds that have already proved to have several important properties, such as anticoagulant and/or antithrombotic, immunomodulatory ability, antitumor and cancer preventive, antilipidaemic and hypoglycaemic, antibiotics and anti-inflammatory and antioxidant, making them promising bioactive products and biomaterials with a wide range of applications. Their properties are mainly due to their structure and physicochemical characteristics, which depend on the organism they are produced by. In the biomedical field, the polysaccharides from algae can be used in controlled drug delivery, wound management, and regenerative medicine. This review will focus on the biomedical applications of marine polysaccharides from algae.
authors.affiliation: CBQF-Centro de Biotecnologia e Química Fina, Laboratório Associado, Escola Superior de Biotecnologia, Universidade Católica Portuguesa/Porto, Rua Arquiteto Lobão Vital, Apartado 2511, 4202-401 Porto, Portugal. fraposo@porto.ucp.pt.
authors.forename: Maria Filomena
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: de Jesus Raposo
authors.affiliation: CBQF-Centro de Biotecnologia e Química Fina, Laboratório Associado, Escola Superior de Biotecnologia, Universidade Católica Portuguesa/Porto, Rua Arquiteto Lobão Vital, Apartado 2511, 4202-401 Porto, Portugal. abmorais@porto.ucp.pt.
authors.forename: Alcina Maria Bernardo
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: de Morais
authors.affiliation: CBQF-Centro de Biotecnologia e Química Fina, Laboratório Associado, Escola Superior de Biotecnologia, Universidade Católica Portuguesa/Porto, Rua Arquiteto Lobão Vital, Apartado 2511, 4202-401 Porto, Portugal. rcmorais@porto.ucp.pt.
authors.forename: Rui Manuel Santos Costa
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: de Morais
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D059001:Aquatic Organisms / Q000737:chemistry*; D001688:Biological Products / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D058086:Microalgae / Q000737:chemistry; D011134:Polysaccharides / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000461:Rhodophyta / Q000737:chemistry*; D012624:Seaweed / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D001688:Biological Products; D011134:Polysaccharides
keywords: algae; bioactive; biomedical; drug delivery; pharmaceuticals; polysaccharides; regenerative medicine; therapeutics; wound management