An article was recently published in the peer-reviewed journal Food Chemistry on the antioxidant activity of Icelandic seaweed (Tao Wang, Rósa Jónsdóttir, Guðrún Ólafsdóttir. 2009. Total phenolic compounds, radical scavenging and metal chelation of extracts from Icelandic seaweeds. Food chemistry, 116, 240-248).
These are results from the project Gold in Aegir's fists (Novel antioxidants from Icelandic marine sources) sponsored by the AVS fund.
Algae contain polyphenols that have high bioactivity, including antioxidant activity. Two years ago, many algae species were collected, the total amount of polyphenols was determined, and their antioxidant activity was assessed by several antioxidant assays. The brown algae, seaweed, seaweed, seaweed, seaweed, seaweed and algae were collected, as well as salsa and seaweed, which are red algae, and marijuana, which is green algae. It was found that the highest levels of polyphenols were found in the brown algae, especially in the seaweed, and there was a strong correlation between the levels of polyphenols and the antioxidant activity of the algae. Preliminary evidence also shows that seaweed has an antihypertensive effect (ACE inhibitory activity), but this needs to be examined further.
Based on these results, it was decided to collect more seaweed and saliva and research further. The next article from the project is ready for publication, but it only deals with salts and the isolation of anti-corrosion substances from them.
For further information Rósa Jónsdóttir, rosa.jonsdottir@matis.is