This study aims to determine the influence of (1) ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE), (2) microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) and (3) a combination of ultrasound–microwave-assisted extraction (UMAE) on the yields of fucose-sulphated polysaccharides (FSPs), total soluble carbohydrates and antioxidants extracted from A. nodosum. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to evaluate the influence of the extraction technologies on the surface of macroalgae while principal component analysis was used to assess the influence of the extraction forces on the yields of compounds. UMAE generated higher yields of compounds compared to UAE and MAE methods separately. The maximum yields of compounds achieved using UMAE were: FSPs (3533.75 ± 55.81 mg fucose/100 g dried macroalgae (dm)), total soluble carbohydrates (10408.72 ± 229.11 mg glucose equivalents/100 g dm) and phenolic compounds (2605.89 ± 192.97 mg gallic acid equivalents/100 g dm). The antioxidant properties of the extracts showed no clear trend or extreme improvements by using UAE, MAE or UMAE. The macroalgal cells were strongly altered by the application of MAE and UMAE, as revealed by the SEM images. Further research will be needed to understand the combined effect of sono-generated and microwave-induced modifications on macroalgae that will allow us to tailor the forces of extraction to target specific molecules.

Cereal and plant proteins are used frequently in the manufacture of animal, fish, and human food products but are often deficient in essential amino acids. In contrast, macroalgal proteins contain all the essential amino acids and are a rich source of other bioactives, including taurine, lipids, carotenoids, and pigments. Furthermore, macroalgal proteins are a substrate for bioactive peptides generation. This paper discusses macroalgal bioactives and their potential use in fish, animal, and human nutrition and health. Issues including their safe use, sustainability of supply, efficient drying and processing methods, and novel extraction technologies are discussed, as well as legislation issues.

This study investigates ultrasound assisted extraction (UAE) process parameters (time, frequency and solvent) to obtain high yields of phlorotannins, flavonoids, total phenolics and associated antioxidant activities from 11 brown seaweed species. Optimised UAE conditions (35 kHz, 30 min and 50% ethanol) significantly improved the extraction yield from 1.5-fold to 2.2-fold in all seaweeds investigated compared to solvent extraction. Using ultrasound, the highest recovery of total phenolics (TPC: 572.3 ± 3.2 mg gallic acid equivalent/g), total phlorotannins (TPhC: 476.3 ± 2.2 mg phloroglucinol equivalent/g) and total flavonoids (TFC: 281.0 ± 1.7 mg quercetin equivalent/g) was obtained from Fucus vesiculosus seaweed. While the lowest recovery of TPC (72.6 ± 2.9 mg GAE/g), TPhC (50.3 ± 2.0 mg PGE/g) and TFC (15.2 ± 3.3 mg QE/g) was obtained from Laminaria digitata seaweed. However, extracts from Fucus serratus obtained by UAE exhibited the strongest 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging activity (29.1 ± 0.25 mg trolox equivalent/g) and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) value (63.9 ± 0.74 mg trolox equivalent/g). UAE under optimised conditions was an effective, low-cost and eco-friendly technique to recover biologically active polyphenols from 11 brown seaweed species.