Tunicates as Sources of High-Quality Nutrients and Bioactive Compounds for Food/Feed and Pharmaceutical Applications: A Review.

ABSTRACT: Tunicates are widely distributed worldwide and are recognized as abundant marine bioresources with many potential applications. In this review, state-of-the-art studies on chemical composition analyses of various tunicate species were summarized; these studies confirmed that tunicates contain nutrients similar to fish (such as abundant cellulose, protein, and ω-3 fatty acid (FA)-rich lipids), indicating their practical and feasible uses for food or animal feed exploration. However, the presence of certain toxic elements should be evaluated in terms of safety. Moreover, recent studies on bioactive substances extracted from tunicates (such as toxins, sphingomyelins, and tunichromes) were analyzed, and their biological properties were comprehensively reviewed, including antimicrobial, antican

SUBMITTER: Gao P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10572860 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature