ABSTRACT
Marine foods have traditionally been used because of their variety of flavor, color, and texture. More recently, seafoods have been appreciated because of their role in health promotion arising primarily from constituent long-chain omega-3 fatty acids, among others. Nutraceuticals from marine resources and the potential application areas are varied, as listed in Table 10.1. Processing of the catch brings about a considerable amount of by-products accounting for 10 to 80% of the total landing weight. The components of interest include lipids, proteins, flavorants, minerals, carotenoids, enzymes,
and chitin, among others. The raw material from such resources may be isolated and used in different applications, including functional foods and as nutraceuticals. The importance of omega-3 fatty acids in reducing the incidence of heart disease, certain types of cancer, diabetes, autoimmune disorders, and arthritis has been well recognized. In addition, the residual protein in seafoods and their by-products may be separated mechanically or via a hydrolysis process. The bioactive peptides so obtained may be used in a variety of food and nonfood applications. The bioactives from marine resources and their application areas are generally diverse. This chapter provides a cursory account of nutraceuticals and bioactives from selected seafood by-products.
