Biological activities and health benefit effects of natural pigments derived from marine algae

The importance of marine algae as sources of functional ingredients has been well recognized due to their valuable health beneficial effects. Therefore, isolation and investigation of novel ingredients with biological activities from marine algae have attracted a great deal of attention. Among functional ingredients identified from marine algae, natural pigments (NPs) have received particular attention. These NPs exhibit various beneficial biological activities such as antioxidant, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, anti-obesity, anti-angiogenic and neuroprotective activities. This contribution focuses on biological activities of marine algae-derived NPs and emphasizing their potential applications in foods as well as pharmaceuticals areas. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.