Pharmaceutical and biomedical potential of sulphated polysaccharides from algae

In recent years, sulphated polysaccharides (SPs) have emerged as an increasingly important class of biopolymers with potential innovative applications in the biomedical and pharmaceutical fields due to their diverse physicochemical properties and biological activities. The focus of the present chapter is to describe these biological activities and pharmacological properties of SPs and to highlight their potential application in the pharmaceutical and biomedical areas, as well. These compounds obtained from algae (macroalgae and microalgae) exhibit many beneficial biological activities, such as anticoagulant and/or antithrombotic, immunomodulator, antitumor and cancer preventive, hypoglycemic, antibiotics and anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant. In addition, the interest in using algal polysaccharides as biomedical vehicles for drug delivery has increased steadily. The isolation, structure elucidation, and bioactivity testing of algal SPs always bring perspectives for the discovery of new drugs and new applications, as well as an economic development, both by introducing a high diversity of new products and, eventually, a product with high added value.