Natural products and health foods have recently received a lot of attention both by health professionals and the common population for improving overall well-being, as well as in the prevention of diseases including cancer. In this line, all types of fruits and vegetables have been re-evaluated and recognized as valuable sources of nutraceuticals. The great number of potentially active nutrients and their multifunctional properties make cactus pear (Opuntia spp.) fruits and cladodes perfect candidates for the production of health-promoting food and food supplements. Although traditionally appreciated for its pharmacological properties by the Native Americans, cactus pear is still hardly recognized because of insufficient scientific information. However, recent studies on Opuntia spp. have demonstrated cactus pear fruit and vegetative cladodes to be excellent candidates for the development of healthy food. Therefore, this review summarizes current knowledge on the chemical composition of Opuntia cacti with particular emphasis in its use as food and medicine.

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Nutritional and medicinal use of Cactus pear (Opuntia spp.) cladodes and fruits.

Towards a better understanding of medicinal uses of the brown seaweed Sargassum in Traditional Chinese Medicine: a phytochemical and pharmacological review.

Neuroprotective effects of antioxidative flavonoids, quercetin, (+)-dihydroquercetin and quercetin 3-methyl ether, isolated from Opuntia ficus-indica var. saboten.

Seaweeds are an important source of bioactive metabolites for the pharmaceutical industry in drug development. Many of these compounds are used to treat diseases like cancer, acquired immune-deficiency syndrome (AIDS), inflammation, pain, arthritis, as well as viral, bacterial, and fungal infections. This paper offers a survey of the literature for Gracilaria algae extracts with biological activity, and identifies avenues for future research. Nineteen species of this genus that were tested for antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal, antihypertensive, cytotoxic, spermicidal, embriotoxic, and anti-inflammatory activities are cited from the 121 references consulted.

/pdf/bioactivities-from-marine-algae-of-the-genus-gracilaria-16175nloo8.pdf

Bioactivities from Marine Algae of the Genus Gracilaria

Cytotoxic and antioxidant marine prenylated quinones and hydroquinones.

https://www.koreascience.or.kr:443/article/JAKO199803041272556.pdf

Lee NamHo

Papers

Screening of the Tyrosinase Inhibitors from Marine Algae and Medicinal Plants

Chemical constituents from Sargassum micracanthum and antioxidant activity.

Elastase and hyaluronidase inhibition activities of phlorotannins isolated from Ecklonia cava

Screening of the radical scavenging effects, tyrosinase inhibition and anti-allergic activities using Opuntia ficus-indica.

Screening of the tyrosinase inhibition and hyaluronidase inhibition activities, and radical scavenging effects using plants in Cheju