Cancer is a major health problem worldwide and still lacks fully effective treatments. Therefore, alternative therapies, using natural products, have been proposed. Marine algae are an important component of the marine environment, with high biodiversity, and contain a huge number of functional compounds, including terpenes, polyphenols, phlorotannins, and polysaccharides, among others. These compounds have complex structures that have shown several biological activities, including anticancer activity, using in vitro and in vivo models. Moreover, seaweed-derived compounds target important molecules that regulate cancer processes. Here, we review our current understanding of the anticancer activity of seaweeds.

癌症是世界范围内的主要健康问题，仍然缺乏完全有效的治疗方法。因此，已经提出了使用天然产物的替代疗法。海藻是海洋环境的重要组成部分，具有高度的生物多样性，并且包含大量功能性化合物，包括萜烯，多酚，间苯二酚和多糖等。这些化合物具有复杂的结构，使用体外和体内模型显示了几种生物活性，包括抗癌活性。此外，海藻衍生的化合物靶向调节癌症过程的重要分子。在这里，我们回顾了我们对海藻抗癌活性的当前了解。