Chemical and nutritional characteristics of brown seaweed lipids: A review

Several brown seaweeds show high total lipids (TL) contents, ranging from 10 to 20 wt.% per dry weight. The main lipid class is glycoglycerolipids (GL), which are rich in 18:4n−3, 20:5n−3 and 20:4n−6. Brown seaweed TL also contains fucoxanthin as a key functional compound. Despite the high levels of 18:4n−3, 20:5n−3 and 20:4n−6, brown seaweed lipids are stable to oxidation. Their high oxidative stability is partly related to the presence of these polyunsaturated fatty acids in their GL forms. Brown seaweed lipids show anti-obesity and anti-diabetic effects, which are mainly due to the up-regulatory effect of fucoxanthin on energy expenditure in abdominal white adipose tissue and glucose utilization in muscle.