Most marine macroalgae such as red seaweeds are potential alternative sources of useful bioactive compounds. Beside serving as food source, recent studies have shown that red seaweeds are rich sources of bioactive polysaccharides. Red seaweed polysaccharides (RSPs) have various physiological and biological activities, which allow them to be used as immunomodulators, anti-obesity agents, and prebiotic ingredients. Lack of summary information and human clinical trials on the various polysaccharides from red seaweeds, however limits industrial-scale utilization of RSPs in functional foods. This review summarizes recent information on the approaches used for RSPs extraction and purification, mechanistic investigations of their biological activities, and related molecular principles behind their purported ability to prevent diseases. The information here also provides a theoretical foundation for further research into the structure and mechanism of action of RSPs and their potential applications in functional foods.

大多数海洋大型藻类如红海藻是有用的生物活性化合物的潜在替代来源。除了作为食物来源，最近的研究表明，红海藻是生物活性多糖的丰富来源。红海藻多糖 (RSPs) 具有多种生理和生物活性，可用作免疫调节剂、抗肥胖剂和益生元成分。然而，缺乏对来自红海藻的各种多糖的总结信息和人体临床试验，限制了 RSP 在功能性食品中的工业规模利用。这篇综述总结了关于 RSPs 提取和纯化方法的最新信息，对其生物活性的机理研究，以及它们声称的预防疾病能力背后的相关分子原理。