Superfood of the sea
Seaweed is the foundation of the biodiversity and productivity of the ocean. Without seaweed, the ocean ecosystems would completely collapse. Many traditional diets in many countries have been using seaweed as one of their staple food. Fast proving itself as a viable and highly nutritious food, seaweed has gained attention in the food industries and in the past three decades, as supplements.
Seaweed is hailed by many as the superfood that will improve one’s wellbeing. From a nutrition point of view, seaweed contains high amounts of iodine, protein, omega-3 fatty acids, B12 and minerals such as potassium, magnesium, calcium and iron. In KISEKI, our proprietary fermentation process changes the chemical profiles of the seaweed metabolites to enrich them with terpenoids, soluble fibers, alkaloids, sterols, polyphenols and polysaccharides. Biological assays in scientific studies showed that many of these seaweed metabolites have promising pharmacological activities including cancer therapy and cardiovascular health management. Some of the metabolite compounds of seaweed have already been isolated in the laboratory to be used as active compounds in supplements and medications. For example Phenylethylamine (PEA) obtained from seaweed are pharmacologically substituted in medication as a stimulant to relieve depression, improve athletic performance, induce weight loss and increase attention span.
One would think that the World’s diseases would be solved by perfecting the isolation and extraction of a metabolite to treat certain diseases. Unfortunately, due to the complex metabolic pathways of our body, synergy of more than 2 types of metabolites is required to increase the uptake and effectiveness of a tissue or an organ. Furthermore, since our tissues and organs work best by complimenting each other to achieve.
A study done by Lopez-Macia and team has not been successful to treat prostate cancer with the isolation and extraction of Kahalalides (a metabolite terpenoid) while Kahalalides has been validated to have potent protective effect on prostate cancer and has the potential to treat prostate cancer in their natural form. Evidently, synthetic metabolites from seaweed are still far less effective than the natural forms of seaweed extracts. This is why we still choose to use our proprietary 2-phase fermentation method to extract metabolites from seaweed all these years.
Seaweed metabolites not only have antimicrobial properties, they also have antiviral and antifungal capabilities. The antifungal properties have helped improve or completely eradicated fungal nails, sinusitis and candida infections from Kiseki consumers. Extractions from natural form of seaweed amplified the bioavailability of polyphenols to become powerful free radical scavengers like alkaloids and glycosides to combat inflammation. These important secondary metabolites have also proven to have antimicrobial, anticancer and antidiabetic activity. Anticoagulant activity of sulphated polysaccharides is good for cardiovascular health as they are beneficial for prevention of thrombosis and blood clot.
To date, there are still countless metabolites in seaweed that are yet to be found, but so far, all metabolites studied are deemed to have impressive nutrition profiles that can improve our health.
References:
Djenisa H. A. Rocha, Ana M. L. Seca & Diana C. G. A. Pinto. Seaweed secondary metabolites In Vitro and In Vivo anticancer activity. MDPI 16(11). Accessed from: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/16/11/410/htm.
Güven K. C., Percot A. & Sezik E. Alkaloids in Marine Algae. Marine Drugs 8 (2). Acessed from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2852838/.
Leela K. & Anchana D. C. Isolation, purification and application of secondary metabolites from seaweed Hypnea Cervicornis. International Journal of Advanced Research (IJAR) 5 (10). Pp. 380-395.
Macia A. L., Jimenez J. C, et. al. Synthesis and structure determination of kahalalide F (1,2). Pubmed 123 (46). Accessed from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11707116/.
Nogueira C. C. R. & Teixeira V. L. Seaweeds as source of new bioactive prototypes. InTech Open 2016. Accessed from: https://www.intechopen.com/books/algae-organisms-for-imminent-biotechnology/seaweeds-as-source-of-new-bioactive-prototypes.
Rosa G. P., Tavares W. R., et. al. Seaweed secondary metabolites with beneficial health effects: An overview of successes in In Vivo studies and clinical trials. PubMed Central. 18(1). Accessed from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7024274/.
WebMD. Phenethylamine (PEA). Acessed from: https://www.webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingredientmono-1274/phenethylamine-pea.
Xi M. & Dragsted L.O. Biomarkers of seaweed intake. BMC 24 (2019). Accessed from: https://genesandnutrition.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12263-019-0648-4.
