ABSTRACT
Seaweeds have a variety of purposes and contain chock-full of vitamins, minerals, fibers, omega-3 fatty acids, and odd types of carbohydrates. Some are consumed as a kind of food by coastal populations. This chapter primarily discusses the positive health benefits of nine kinds of edible seaweeds in both cancer prevention and health improvement, and covers the bioactive components involved in anticancer, anticarcinogenic, antimutagenic, antiangiogenic, and immuneostimulating properties of seaweeds, as well as their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial activities, and so on in spite of certain small molecules exerting cancer-inhibitory effects; however, a majority of these activities of the seaweeds are contributed by their major components with macromolecules such as polysaccharides, sulfated polysaccharides, sulfated protein polysaccharides, and glycoproteins against proliferation of cancer cells. Much evidence recommends the consumption of edible seaweeds to fight cancer and to enhance the protecting ability of the human body. This chapter also gives a suggestion for safe dietary intake of seaweeds.
