The Quest for Phenolic Compounds from Seaweed: Nutrition, Biological Activities and Applications

Seaweeds are macroscopic marine algae that are allocated into three categories based on the seaweed color (green, brown and red seaweeds). Seaweeds are known for its nutrition and beneficial non-nutritive compounds. Seaweeds have ample nutrition content including carbohydrates, minerals, proteins, and vitamins. Green seaweeds have a high concentration of carbohydrates and lipids whereas red seaweeds have abundant content of proteins. The mineral content ranges up to 36% of its dry weight. The beneficial non-nutritive compounds are phenolic compounds that are classified into phenolic acids, flavonoids, bromophenols and phlorotannins in seaweeds. The phlorotannin compounds are found mostly in brown seaweeds whereas the bromophenols are observed in red seaweeds. The phenolic compounds identified demonstrated bioactive properties which have been confirmed through in vivo cell culture studies. Due to seaweed’s beneficial properties, the seaweed biomass have been consumed as a portion of convenience food in the Asian diet and has expanded to the Western diet. Over the last few decades, the extract or the biomass has been used in making fertilizers, animal feed, pharmaceuticals, and cosmeceuticals. This review helps to understand the nutrition content, especially phenolic compounds with their bioactive properties and recent development in applications

Bioaccessibility and Bioavailability of Phenolic Compounds in Seaweed

Bioaccessibility and Bioavailability of Phenolic Compounds in Seawee

Distinct T cell polyfunctional profile in SARS-CoV-2 seronegative children associated with endemic human coronavirus cross-reactivity

SARS-CoV-2 infection in children typically results in asymptomatic or mild disease. There is a paucity of studies on SARS-CoV-2 antiviral immunity in African children. We investigated SARS-CoV-2-specific T cell responses in 71 unvaccinated asymptomatic South African children who were seropositive or seronegative for SARS-CoV-2. SARS-CoV-2-specific CD4+ T cell responses were detectable in 83% of seropositive and 60% of seronegative children. Although the magnitude of the CD4+ T cell response did not differ significantly between the two groups, their functional profiles were distinct, with SARS-CoV-2 seropositive children exhibiting a higher proportion of polyfunctional T cells compared to their seronegative counterparts. The frequency of SARS-CoV-2-specific CD4+ T cells in seronegative children was associated with the endemic human coronavirus (HCoV) HKU1 IgG response. Overall, the presence of SARS-CoV-2-responding T cells in seronegative children may result from cross-reactivity to endemic coronaviruses and could contribute to the relative protection from disease observed in SARS-CoV-2-infected children