Seagrasses as potential source of medicinal food ingredients: Nutritional analysis and multivariate approach

Seagrasses were used as food, medicine, fertilizer and as livestock feed. As a contribution to the nutrition value of seagrasses, the present investigation provides data on the biochemical composition, essential elements and photosynthetic pigments of six tropical seagrasses. The multivariate analysis was performed with the aim to know the relationship among the nutrients in the seagrasses. The development of functional foods could be a new possible use of these seagrasses, particularly as a rich source in protein, fibre and lipid and for their beneficial effects that have been attributed to diseases, such as obesity and diabetes. The high amount of chlorophylls and carotenoids in these seagrasses is beneficial as they can act as vitamins and antioxidants. This study was conducted to create a nutritional data set that could be used to develop functional food ingredients in the food and pharmacological industry.