Bioactivities of the edible brown seaweed, Undaria pinnatifida: A review

Natural ingredients containing high nutrients, various natural compounds, with broad spectrum of bioactivities and wide range of natural distribution or production, have been attracting more and more attention in food and pharmaceutical industries. Undaria pinnatifida, is an edible brown seaweed that contains high carbohydrate, protein, microelement, and various types of secondary metabolites, which possess strong bioactivities. It has been one of the popular seaweeds used for food as well as medicine in most of Asian countries including China, Korea, and Japan for a long time. Recent studies suggest that U. pinnatifida is rich in natural compounds such as polyphenols, peptides, and polysaccharides, these compounds possess various bioactivities such as anticancer, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-diabetes properties. In the present review, we have collected and summarized the scientific data published about the bioactivities of U. pinnatifida.