ABSTRACT
Seaweeds represent one of the most nutritious plant foods, and general utilization of seaweeds in food products has grown steadily since the early 1980s (Besada et al., 2009). The ancient tradition as well as daily intake of seaweeds has made possible a large number of epidemiological studies showing the health benefits of seaweed consumption (Pisani et al., 2002; Yuan and Walsh, 2006). Furthermore, Jorm and Jolley (1998) reported that neurodegenerative cases in East Asian countries were lower than that in Europe (p < 0.0004). Studies showed that less number of cancer and neurodegenerative disease cases in the Eastern hemisphere is associated with large amounts of seaweed consumption. In Asian culture, seaweeds have always been of particular interest as food sources (Khan et al., 2010). In recent years, consumers in developed countries are turning toward more natural and nutritional products such as seaweeds (Van Netten et al., 2000). Seaweeds have recently been approved in France for human consumption, thus providing an opening for the food and fisheries industries. During 2003, it was estimated that
Contents 2.1 Introduction ................................................................................................5 2.2 Nutritional Value of Sea Lettuces ..............................................................6
