Fucosterol (24-ethylidene cholesterol) is a bioactive compound belonging to the sterol group that can be isolated from marine algae. Fucosterol of marine algae exhibits various biological activities including anti-osteoarthritic, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, anti-photoaging, immunomodulatory, hepatoprotective, anti-neurological, antioxidant, algicidal, anti-obesity, and antimicrobial. Numerous studies on fucosterol, mainly focusing on the quantification and characterization of the chemical structure, bioactivities, and health benefits of fucosterol, have been published. However, there is no comprehensive review on safety and toxicity levels of fucosterol of marine algae. This review aims to discuss the bioactivities, safety, and toxicity of fucosterol comprehensively, which is important for the application and development of fucosterol as a bioactive compound in nutraceutical and pharmaceutical industries. We used four online databases to search for literature on fucosterol published between 2002 and 2020. We identified, screened, selected, and analyzed the literature using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses method and identified 43 studies for review. Despite the potential applications of fucosterol, we identified the need to fill certain related research gaps. Fucosterol exhibited low toxicity in animal cell lines, human cell lines, and animals. However, studies on the safety and toxicity of fucosterol at the clinical stage, which are required before fucosterol is developed for the industry, are lacking.

The brown seaweed Hizikia fusiformis (syn. Sargassum fusiforme), commonly known as “Hijiki”, has been utilized in traditional cuisine and medicine in East Asian countries for several centuries. H. fusiformis has attracted much attention owing to its rich nutritional and pharmacological properties. However, there has been no comprehensive review of the nutritional and pharmacological properties of H. fusiformis. The aim of this systematic review was to provide detailed information from the published literature on the nutritional and pharmacological properties of H. fusiformis. A comprehensive online search of the literature was conducted by accessing databases, such as PubMed, SpringerLink, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar, for published studies on the nutritional and pharmacological properties of H. fusiformis between 2010 and 2021. A total of 916 articles were screened from all the databases using the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses method. Screening based on the setdown criteria resulted in 59 articles, which were used for this review. In this review, we found that there has been an increase in the number of publications on the pharmacological and nutritional properties of H. fusiformis over the last 10 years. In the last 10 years, studies have focused on the proximate, mineral, polysaccharide, and bioactive compound composition, and pharmacological properties, such as antioxidant, anticancer, antitumor, anti-inflammatory, photoprotective, neuroprotective, antidiabetic, immunomodulatory, osteoprotective, and gastroprotective properties of H. fusiformis extracts. Overall, further studies and strategies are required to develop H. fusiformis as a promising resource for the nutrition and pharmacological industries.

Studies have reported the impact of frying on the nutritional and sensory properties of mackerel. However, no study has reviewed this topic. This study reviewed the effects of different frying processes on the nutritional and sensory characteristics of mackerel, with and without batter, marinade, and spice. MEDLINE, Web of Science, PubMed, and ScienceDirect were used as online databases to find relevant articles. We found that the nutritional, physicochemical, and sensory properties of fried mackerel without treatment were influenced by frying methods. Deep frying affected the oxidation of lipids and degradation of proteins, while air frying increased the overall acceptance score. Frying can reduce perfluorinated compounds (PFCs), eliminate some toxins, lower the trypsin inhibitor (TI), and increase the sensory parameters of mackerel with batter, marinade, and spice treatment. The different ingredients of minced mackerel products preserved their nutritional and sensory parameters after frying. Interestingly, vacuum frying resulted in lower oxidation and maintenance of nutritional and sensory parameters of fried mackerel (with or without treatment) and minced mackerel products. Further research is needed to reveal the effectiveness of vacuum frying in maintaining the nutritional and sensory properties of fried and minced mackerel products.

The development of macroalgal biorefinery products as an alternative source of renewable fuels is an opportunity to solve the dependence on fossil fuels. Macroalgae is a potential biomass that can be developed as a raw material for producing platform chemicals such as levulinic acid (LA). In the industrial sector, LA is among the top 12 biomass-derived feedstocks designated by the U.S. Department of Energy as a high-value chemical. Several studies have been conducted on the production of LA from terrestrial-based biomass, however, there is still limited information on its production from macroalgae. The advantages of macroalgae over terrestrial and other biomasses include high carbohydrate and biomass production, less cultivation cost, and low lignin content. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the potential and challenge of producing LA from macroalgae in the industrial sector and determine its advantages and disadvantages compared with terrestrial biomass in LA production. In this study, various literature sources were examined using the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) method to identify, screen, and analyze the data of the published paper. Despite its advantages, there are some challenges in making the production of levulinic acid from macroalgae feasible for development at the industrial scale. Some challenges such as sustainability of macroalgae, the efficiency of pretreatment, and hydrolysis technology are often encountered during the production of levulinic acid from macroalgae on an industrial scale.