Phytochemical compounds with promising biological activities from Ascophyllum nodosum extracts using microwave-assisted extraction.

Phytochemical-rich antioxidant extracts were obtained from Ascophyllum nodosum (AN) using microwave-assisted extraction (MAE). Critical extraction factors such as time, pressure, and ethanol concentration were optimized by response surface methodology with a circumscribed central composite design. Under the optimal MAE conditions (3 min, 10.4 bar, 46.8 % ethanol), the maximum recovery of phytochemical compounds (polyphenols and fucoxanthin) with improved antioxidant activity from AN was obtained. In addition, the optimized AN extract showed significant biological activities as it was able to scavenge reactive oxygen and nitrogen species, inhibit central nervous system-related enzymes, and exhibit cytotoxic activity against different cancer cell lines. In addition, the optimized AN extract showed antimicrobial, and anti-quorum sensing activities, indicating that this extract could offer direct and indirect protection against infection by pathogenic microorganisms. This work demonstrated that the sustainably obtained AN extract could be an emerging, non-toxic, and natural ingredient with potential to be included in different applications.

Health Benefits of Oily Fish: Illustrated with Blue Shark (Prionace glauca), Shortfin Mako Shark (Isurus oxyrinchus), and Swordfish (Xiphias gladius).

Oily fish is a rich source of energy, proteins, essential amino acids, lipids, vitamins, and minerals. Among the macronutrients with the highest contribution are lipids, mainly long-chain omega 3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (ω-3 LC-PUFA), especially eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Both EPA and DHA play a beneficial role in promoting health and preventing many diseases, including cardiovascular diseases, such as stroke and acute myocardial infarction. They also contribute to the prevention of neurological, metabolic, and immune-system-related diseases, as well as supporting body-weight control. Oily fish consumption is also important at different stages of human life, from conception to old age. For example, DHA plays an important role in brain and retina development during fetal development and in the first two years of life, as it positively influences neurodevelopment, such as visual acuity, and cognitive functions. In contrast with the possible health benefits of the intake of oily fish, the presence of certain chemical pollutants, for example, heavy metals, can be a risk for the health of consumers, mainly in sensitive population groups such as pregnant women and children under 2 years of age. The presence of these pollutants is influenced to a greater extent by fish species, their role in the trophic chain, and their size. However, various studies state that the benefits outweigh the risk of consuming certain species. This review will be focused on the health benefits of the intake of three oily fish species, namely blue shark (Prionace glauca), shortfin mako shark (Isurus oxyrinchus), and swordfish (Xiphias gladius).

Recent Progress in Understanding the Impact of Food Processing and Storage on the Structure-Activity Relationship of Fucoxanthin.

Fucoxanthin, a brown algae carotenoid, has attracted great interest because of its numerous biological activities supported by in vitro and in vivo studies. However, its chemical structure is susceptible to alterations when subjected to food processing and storage conditions, such as heat, oxygen, light, and pH changes. Consequently, these conditions lead to the formation of fucoxanthin derivatives, including cis-isomers, apo-fucoxanthinone, apo-fucoxanthinal, fucoxanthinol, epoxides, and hydroxy compounds, collectively known as degradation products. Currently, little information is available regarding the stability and functionality of these fucoxanthin derivatives resulting from food processing and storage. Therefore, enhancing the understanding of the biological effect of fucoxanthin derivatives is crucial for optimizing the utilization of fucoxanthin in various applications and ensuring its efficacy in potential health benefits. To this aim, this review describes the main chemical reactions affecting the stability of fucoxanthin during food processing and storage, facilitating the identification of the major fucoxanthin derivatives. Moreover, recent advancements in the structure-activity relationship of fucoxanthin derivatives will be critically assessed, emphasizing their biological activity. Overall, this review provides a critical updated understanding of the effects of technological processes on fucoxanthin stability and activity that can be helpful for stakeholders when designing processes for food products containing fucoxanthin.

Challenges in the Application of Circular Economy Models to Agricultural By-Products: Pesticides in Spain as a Case Study.

The income and residue production from agriculture has a strong impact in Spain. A circular economy and a bioeconomy are two alternative sustainable models that include the revalorization of agri-food by-products to recover healthy biomolecules. However, most crops are conventional, implying the use of pesticides. Hence, the reutilization of agri-food by-products may involve the accumulation of pesticides. Even though the waste-to-bioproducts trend has been widely studied, the potential accumulation of pesticides during by-product revalorization has been scarcely assessed. Therefore, in this study, the most common pesticides found in eight highly productive crops in Spain are evaluated according to the available published data, mainly from EFSA reports. Among these, oranges, berries and peppers showed an increasing tendency regarding pesticide exceedances. In addition, the adverse effects of pesticides on human and animal health and the environment were considered. Finally, a safety assessment was developed to understand if the reutilization of citrus peels to recover ascorbic acid (AA) would represent a risk to human health. The results obtained seem to indicate the safety of this by-product to recover AA concentrations to avoid scurvy (45 mg/day) and improve health (200 mg/day). Therefore, this work evaluates the potential risk of pesticide exposure through the revalorization of agri-food by-products using peels from citruses, one of the major agricultural crops in Spain, as a case study.

Camellia japonica Flowers as a Source of Nutritional and Bioactive Compounds.

In recent decades, plants have strengthened their relevance as sources of molecules potentially beneficial for health. This underpinning effect also arises from the extensive research that has been conducted on plants that are typically undervalued, besides being scarcely used. This is the case with Camellia japonica in Galicia (NW Spain), where, despite its abundance, it is exclusively used for ornamental purposes and has been studied only for its proximate composition. Thus, the present study was conducted on several additional parameters in the flowers of eight C. japonica varieties. Our results show that camellia has a high nutritional value, with carbohydrates as the most abundant macronutrients followed by a moderate protein content (4.4-6.3 g/100 g dry weight) and high levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids (especially ω-3 fatty acids, which represent 12.9-22.7% of the total fatty acids), raising its potential for use for nutritional purposes. According to the thermochemical characterization and elemental composition of camellia, the raw material has poor mineralization and low nitrogen content, but high percentages of volatile matter and high carbon-fixation rates, making it a promising alternative for biofuel production. Furthermore, preliminary analysis reveals a high concentration of different bioactive compounds. As a result of these findings, camellias can be used as food or functional ingredients to improve the nutritional quality of food formulations.

Kinetic Extraction of Fucoxanthin from Undaria pinnatifida Using Ethanol as a Solvent.

Fucoxanthin (Fx) has been proven to exert numerous biological properties, which makes it an interesting molecule with diverse industrial applications. In this study, the kinetic behavior of Fx was studied to optimize three variables: time (t-3 min to 7 days), temperature (T-5 to 85 °C), and concentration of ethanol in water (S-50 to 100%, v/v), in order to obtain the best Fx yield from Undaria pinnatifida using conventional heat extraction. The Fx content (Y1) was found through HPLC-DAD and expressed in µg Fx/g of algae sample dry weight (AS dw). Furthermore, extraction yield (Y2) was also found through dry weight analysis and was expressed in mg extract (E)/g AS dw. The purity of the extracts (Y3) was found and expressed in mg Fx/g E dw. The optimal conditions selected for Y1 were T = 45 °C, S = 70%, and t = 66 min, obtaining ~5.24 mg Fx/g AS; for Y2 were T = 65 °C, S = 60%, and t = ~10 min, obtaining ~450 mg E/g AS; and for Y3 were T = 45 °C, S = 70%, and t = 45 min, obtaining ~12.3 mg Fx/g E. In addition, for the selected optimums, a full screening of pigments was performed by HPLC-DAD, while phenolics and flavonoids were quantified by spectrophotometric techniques and several biological properties were evaluated (namely, antioxidant, antimicrobial, and cholinesterase inhibitory activity). These results could be of interest for future applications in the food, cosmetic, or pharmaceutical industries, as they show the Fx kinetic behavior and could help reduce costs associated with energy and solvent consumption while maximizing the extraction yields.

Emerging Technologies to Extract Fucoxanthin from Undaria pinnatifida: Microwave vs. Ultrasound Assisted Extractions.

Macroalgae are an extensive resource for the obtention of bioactive compounds, mainly phenolic compounds, phlorotannins, and pigments. Fucoxanthin (Fx) is the most abundant pigment present in brown algae and has shown several useful bioactivities that can be used to fortify products in the food and cosmetic industries. Nevertheless, to date, there is still insufficient literature reporting on the extraction yield of Fx from U. pinnatifida species from green technologies. In this regard, the present study aims to optimize the extraction conditions to obtain the highest Fx yield from U. pinnatifida through emerging techniques, namely microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) and ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE). These methods will be compared with the conventional methodologies of heat-assisted extraction (HAE) and Soxhlet-assisted extraction (SAE). According to our results, even though the extraction yield could be slightly higher when using MAE than UAE, the Fx concentration obtained from the alga was double when using UAE. Thus, the Fx ratio in the final extract reached values of 124.39 mg Fx/g E. However, the optimal conditions should also be considered since UAE needed 30 min to perform the extraction, whereas MAE was able to obtain 58.83 mg Fx/g E in only 3 min and 2 bar, meaning less energy expenditure and minimum cost function. To our knowledge, this study obtains the highest concentrations of Fx ever reported (58.83 mg Fx/g E for MAE and 124.39 mg Fx/g E for UAE), with low energy consumption and short times (3.00 min for MAE and 35.16 min for UAE). Any of these results could be selected for further experiments and proposed for industrial scaling-up.

Pressurized Liquid Extraction for the Recovery of Bioactive Compounds from Seaweeds for Food Industry Application: A Review.

Seaweeds are an underutilized food in the Western world, but they are widely consumed in Asia, with China being the world's larger producer. Seaweeds have gained attention in the food industry in recent years because of their composition, which includes polysaccharides, lipids, proteins, dietary fiber, and various bioactive compounds such as vitamins, essential minerals, phenolic compounds, and pigments. Extraction techniques, ranging from more traditional techniques such as maceration to novel technologies, are required to obtain these components. Pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) is a green technique that uses high temperatures and pressure applied in conjunction with a solvent to extract components from a solid matrix. To improve the efficiency of this technique, different parameters such as the solvent, temperature, pressure, extraction time and number of cycles should be carefully optimized. It is important to note that PLE conditions allow for the extraction of target analytes in a short-time period while using less solvent and maintaining a high yield. Moreover, the combination of PLE with other techniques has been already applied to extract compounds from different matrices, including seaweeds. In this way, the combination of PLE-SFE-CO2 seems to be the best option considering both the higher yields obtained and the economic feasibility of a scaling-up approximation. In addition, the food industry is interested in incorporating the compounds extracted from edible seaweeds into food packaging (including edible coating, bioplastics and bio-nanocomposites incorporated into bioplastics), food products and animal feed to improve their nutritional profile and technological properties. This review attempts to compile and analyze the current data available regarding the application of PLE in seaweeds to determine the use of this extraction technique as a method to obtain active compounds of interest for food industry application.

Bioactive Compounds of Verbascum sinuatum L.: Health Benefits and Potential as New Ingredients for Industrial Applications.

Verbascum sinuatum (V. sinuatum) is a plant belonging to the Scrophulariaceae family that has been used as an ingredient in traditional medicine infusions for the treatment of many diseases. The aerial part of this plant is a source of bioactive compounds, especially polyphenols and iridoids. Moreover, antioxidant activity studies have shown that V. sinuatum phenolic and flavonoid composition is higher than those in other plants of the same genus. V. sinuatum bioactive compound composition could vary according to the harvesting location, growing conditions of the plants, sample preparation methods, type and concentration of the extraction solvent, and the extraction methods. The obtention of these compounds can be achieved by different extraction techniques, most commonly, maceration, heat assisted extraction, and infusion. Nevertheless, since conventional extraction techniques have several drawbacks such as long times of extraction or use of large amounts of solvents, the use of green extraction techniques is suggested, without affecting the efficiency of the extraction. Moreover, V. sinuatum bioactive compounds have several biological activities, such as antioxidant, anticancer, cardiovascular, antimicrobial, antidiabetic, and neuroprotective activities, that may be increased by encapsulation. Since the bioactive compounds extracted from V. sinuatum present good potential as functional food ingredients and in the development of drugs or cosmetics, this review gives an approach of the possible incorporation of these compounds in the food and pharmacological industries.

Algal nutraceuticals: A perspective on metabolic diversity, current food applications, and prospects in the field of metabolomics.

The current consumers' demand for food naturalness is urging the search for new functional foods of natural origin with enhanced health-promoting properties. In this sense, algae constitute an underexplored biological source of nutraceuticals that can be used to fortify food products. Both marine macroalgae (or seaweeds) and microalgae exhibit a myriad of chemical constituents with associated features as a result of their primary and secondary metabolism. Thus, primary metabolites, especially polysaccharides and phycobiliproteins, present interesting properties to improve the rheological and nutritional properties of food matrices, whereas secondary metabolites, such as polyphenols and xanthophylls, may provide interesting bioactivities, including antioxidant or cytotoxic effects. Due to the interest in algae as a source of nutraceuticals by the food and related industries, novel strategies should be undertaken to add value to their derived functional components. As a result, metabolomics is considered a high throughput technology to get insight into the full metabolic profile of biological samples, and it opens a wide perspective in the study of algae metabolism, whose knowledge is still little explored. This review focuses on algae metabolism and its applications in the food industry, paying attention to the promising metabolomic approaches to be developed aiming at the functional characterization of these organisms.

Seaweed bioactive compounds: Promising and safe inputs for the green synthesis of metal nanoparticles in the food industry.

Scientific research on developing and characterizing eco-friendly metal nanoparticles (NPs) is an active area experiencing currently a systematic and continuous growth. A variety of physical, chemical and more recently biological methods can be used for the synthesis of metal nanoparticles. Among them, reports supporting the potential use of algae in the NPs green synthesis, contribute with only a minor proportion, although seaweed was demonstrated to perform as a successful reducing and stabilizing agent. Thus, the first part of the present review depicts the up-to-date information on the use of algae extracts for the synthesis of metal nanoparticles, including a deep discussion of the certain advantages as well as some limitations of this synthesis route. In the second part, the available characterization techniques to unravel their inherent properties such as specific size, shape, composition, morphology and dispersibility are comprehensively described, to finally focus on the factors affecting their applications, bioactivity, potential toxic impact on living organisms and incorporation into food matrices or food packaging, as well as future prospects. The present article identifies the key knowledge gap in a systematic way highlighting the critical next steps in the green synthesis of metal NPs mediated by algae.

Single-Cell Proteins Obtained by Circular Economy Intended as a Feed Ingredient in Aquaculture.

The constant increment in the world's population leads to a parallel increase in the demand for food. This situation gives place the need for urgent development of alternative and sustainable resources to satisfy this nutritional requirement. Human nutrition is currently based on fisheries, which accounts for 50% of the fish production for human consumption, but also on agriculture, livestock, and aquaculture. Among them, aquaculture has been pointed out as a promising source of animal protein that can provide the population with high-quality protein food. This productive model has also gained attention due to its fast development. However, several aquaculture species require considerable amounts of fish protein to reach optimal growth rates, which represents its main drawback. Aquaculture needs to become sustainable using renewable source of nutrients with high contents of proteins to ensure properly fed animals. To achieve this goal, different approaches have been considered. In this sense, single-cell protein (SCP) products are a promising solution to replace fish protein from fishmeal. SCP flours based on microbes or algae biomass can be sustainably obtained. These microorganisms can be cultured by using residues supplied by other industries such as agriculture, food, or urban areas. Hence, the application of SCP for developing innovative fish meal offers a double solution by reducing the management of residues and by providing a sustainable source of proteins to aquaculture. However, the use of SCP as aquaculture feed also has some limitations, such as problems of digestibility, presence of toxins, or difficulty to scale-up the production process. In this work, we review the potential sources of SCP, their respective production processes, and their implementation in circular economy strategies, through the revalorization and exploitation of different residues for aquaculture feeding purposes. The data analyzed show the positive effects of SCP inclusion in diets and point to SCP meals as a sustainable feed system. However, new processes need to be exploited to improve yield. In that direction, the circular economy is a potential alternative to produce SCP at any time of the year and from various cost-free substrates, almost without a negative impact.

Recent advances in biological properties of brown algae-derived compounds for nutraceutical applications.

The increasing demand for nutraceuticals in the circular economy era has driven the research toward studying bioactive compounds from renewable underexploited resources. In this regard, the exploration of brown algae has shown significant growth and maintains a great promise for the future. One possible explanation could be that brown algae are rich sources of nutritional compounds (polyunsaturated fatty acids, fiber, proteins, minerals, and vitamins) and unique metabolic compounds (phlorotannins, fucoxanthin, fucoidan) with promising biological activities that make them good candidates for nutraceutical applications with increased value-added. In this review, a deep description of bioactive compounds from brown algae is presented. In addition, recent advances in biological activities ascribed to these compounds through in vitro and in vivo assays are pointed out. Delivery strategies to overcome some drawbacks related to the direct application of algae-derived compounds (low solubility, thermal instability, bioavailability, unpleasant organoleptic properties) are also reviewed. Finally, current commercial and legal statuses of ingredients from brown algae are presented, considering future therapeutical and market perspectives as nutraceuticals.

Camellia japonica: A phytochemical perspective and current applications facing its industrial exploitation.

In response to the increased popularity of medicinal plants, a number of conservation groups are recommending the investigation on poorly characterized and widely distributed species, as it is the case of camellias. In particular, Camellia japonica L. is a widespread species found in Galicia (NW Spain), where it has been largely exploited with ornamental purposes. Recent findings on its phytochemical characterization showed thousands of bioactive ingredients, mostly represented by phenolic compounds, together with terpenoids, and fatty acids. These molecules present associated biological activities, acting as antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer agents. This review is aimed at describing the main bioactive compounds of C. japonica, as well as the health-enhancing properties attributed to this medicinal plant. Novel strategies are needed to implement an efficient industrialization process for C. japonica, ranging from small-scale approaches to the establishment of large plantations, thus involving important sectors, such as the food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries.

Green synthesis, characterization and applications of iron and zinc nanoparticles by probiotics.

The synthesis of nanoparticles (NPs) by microorganisms is one of the most promising areas of research in modern nanotechnology since microorganisms can easily act as real nanofactories of industrially relevant compounds. Recent studies suggest that probiotic bacteria have an intrinsic potential to synthesize metal NPs when grown in the presence of metal ions. In such conditions, they can reduce metal ions through different biochemical mechanisms occurring both intra and extracellularly, and leading to the production of NPs. Different approaches have proposed the synthesis of silver, gold, titanium or selenium NPs from probiotics, with promising health related effects. However, their use for the production of iron and zinc NPs has been scarcely reported. Considering the nutritional relevance of iron and zinc, a thorough approach about the synthesis of iron and zinc NPs by probiotics was addressed, including the factors affecting the synthesis processes, the mechanisms of synthesis, and the physical and chemical characterization of NPs. The impact of products containing probiotics and minerals has applications in many different fields going beyond the food industry and representing a powerful strategy as economic engine for very diverse industries and countries.

Sustainable Food Systems in Fruits and Vegetables Food Supply Chains.

Fruits and vegetables wastes (e.g., peel fractions, pulps, pomace, and seeds) represent ~16% of total food waste and contribute ~6% to global greenhouse gas emissions. The diversity of the fruit-horticultural production in several developing countries and the excess of certain fruits or vegetables in the months of greatest production offer unique opportunities for adding value to these wastes (co-products). Within the scope of the Circular Economy, valorization of such wastes for the production of innovative bio-ingredients can open great market opportunities if efficiently exploited. In this context, this review deals with the current situation of wastes arising from fruits and vegetables (availability, characterization) as sources of valuable ingredients (fiber, polyphenols, pigments) suitable to be incorporated into food, pharmaceutical and cosmeceutical products. In addition, an integral and systematic approach including the sustainable technologies generally used at both lab and industrial scale for efficient extraction of bioactive compounds from fruits and vegetables wastes are addressed. Overall, this review provides a general updated overview regarding the situation of fruits and vegetables chain supplies in the post-pandemic era, offering an integrative perspective that goes beyond the recovery of fiber and phytochemicals from the previous mentioned wastes and focuses on whole processes and in their social and economic impacts.

Valorization of fruit and vegetables agro-wastes for the sustainable production of carotenoid-based colorants with enhanced bioavailability.

Carotenoids are pigments naturally occurring in fruits and vegetables, and responsible for their yellow to red colors. They also have several bioactive properties, making them interesting alternatives to the artificial colorants commonly used in the food industry. This review compiles an updated research progress about green production of carotenoid-based colorants focusing on the benefits associated with their sustainable extraction from agro-wastes, also considering the environmental aspects associated to the processes. Taking into account the hydrophobic nature of carotenoids and their susceptibility to degradation when exposed to technological and/or storage conditions (e.g., light, heat, and oxygen), protecting strategies based on nanotechnological approaches were presented as tools to avoid degradation and thus, retain the bioactive properties. Additionally, the effect of such nanotechnological strategies on carotenoids bioaccessibility and bioavailability was reviewed and discussed. Finally, the health-related properties of carotenoids that make them promising candidates to be used not only as functional food ingredients but also in therapeutic applications and in the nutraceutical and cosmeceutical industries were also considered.

Thermochemical Characterization of Eight Seaweed Species and Evaluation of Their Potential Use as an Alternative for Biofuel Production and Source of Bioactive Compounds.

Algae are underexplored resources in Western countries and novel approaches are needed to boost their industrial exploitation. In this work, eight edible seaweeds were subjected to their valorization in terms of nutritional characterization, thermochemical properties, and bioactive profile. Our results suggest that seaweeds present a rich nutritional profile, in which carbohydrates are present in high proportions, followed by a moderate protein composition and a valuable content of ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids. The thermochemical characterization of seaweeds showed that some macroalgae present a low ash content and high volatile matter and carbon fixation rates, being promising sources for alternative biofuel production. The bioactive profile of seaweeds was obtained from their phenolic and carotenoid content, together with the evaluation of their associated bioactivities. Among all the species analyzed, Porphyra purpurea presented a balanced composition in terms of carbohydrates and proteins and the best thermochemical profile. This species also showed moderate anti-inflammatory activity. Additionally, Himanthalia elongata extracts showed the highest contents of total phenolics and a moderate carotenoid content, which led to the highest rates of antioxidant activity. Overall, these results suggest that seaweeds can be used as food or functional ingredient to increase the nutritional quality of food formulations.

Traditional Applications of Tannin Rich Extracts Supported by Scientific Data: Chemical Composition, Bioavailability and Bioaccessibility.

Tannins are polyphenolic compounds historically utilized in textile and adhesive industries, but also in traditional human and animal medicines or foodstuffs. Since 20th-century, advances in analytical chemistry have allowed disclosure of the chemical nature of these molecules. The chemical profile of extracts obtained from previously selected species was investigated to try to establish a bridge between traditional background and scientific data. The study of the chemical composition of these extracts has permitted us to correlate the presence of tannins and other related molecules with the effectiveness of their apparent uses. The revision of traditional knowledge paired with scientific evidence may provide a supporting background on their use and the basis for developing innovative pharmacology and food applications based on formulations using natural sources of tannins. This traditional-scientific approach can result useful due to the raising consumers' demand for natural products in markets, to which tannin-rich extracts may pose an attractive alternative. Therefore, it is of interest to back traditional applications with accurate data while meeting consumer's acceptance. In this review, several species known to contain high amounts of tannins have been selected as a starting point to establish a correlation between their alleged traditional use, tannins content and composition and potential bioaccessibility.

Seaweed-based natural ingredients: Stability of phlorotannins during extraction, storage, passage through the gastrointestinal tract and potential incorporation into functional foods.

Adding value to seaweed by extracting their different bioactive compounds and incorporating them into foods represent an interesting and strategic approach to diversify the functional foods offer. However, once harvested, fresh seaweed must overcome a sequence of crucial steps to confer their biological activity. Pre-processing operations and extraction processes, as well as long-term storage, play important roles in improving or decreasing the phlorotannins content. In their way to the gut (biological target), phlorotannins are exposed to the human gastrointestinal tract (GIT), where the physiological pH and digestive enzymes can significantly affect the phlorotannins' stability and thus, alter their biological activity. Besides, the subsequent incorporation into foodstuffs could be limited due to sensory issues, as tannins have been associated with astringency and bitter taste, and thus effective phlorotannins doses may negatively affect the sensory attributes of foods. These drawbacks expose the need of applying smart strategies to develop a final product providing the necessary protective mechanisms to maintain the active molecular form of phlorotannins up to the consumption time, also controlling their release upon arrival to the gut. In this context, the impact of these technological processes (from pre-processing to the passage through the GIT) on phlorotannins stability, as well as the innovative developed approaches to overcome these issues will be deeply discussed in this review. Besides, recent findings related to the phlorotannins' health benefits will be pointed out. Special attention on the potential incorporation of phlorotannins into functional foods will be also put it on.