Seaweed is a common name for edible marine algae. Algae are similar to plants and contain many constituents that are present in plants. This relates to the fact that both plants and algae photosynthesise and make nutrients from light. Algae contains a range of photosynthetic pigments, as well as other chemicals such as polysaccharides and phytosterols. Many of the constituents in seaweeds are evidenced to provide support against the development of mood disorders, due to their ability to reduce free radical damage and inflammation. This may make them protective of a number of neurological and neurodegenerative diseases. In particular, phytosterols in seaweed are known to be anti-inflammatory and to interfere in neurotoxic peptide formation and clearance, beta-carotene and fucoxanthin have antioxidant properties, apo-9′-fucoxanthinone in an anti-inflammatory, and the polysaccharide in seaweed called fucoidan have been shown to be able to normalise levels of oxidative stress in cells.
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