Nutritional, phytochemical, and potential health benefits of Monostroma spp.: A systematic review

Abstract Monostroma spp., belonging to the green seaweed, has been known to be health‐promoting food items as prophylactic agents worldwide. It has shown wide arrays of bioactivities for the prevention and treatment of various diseases. A total of 47 articles were selected to review following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta‐Analyses method. Our extensive search suggests that different secondary metabolites along with nutritional compounds and chemical compounds exhibit many health‐beneficial activities. However, among the literature reviewed for bio‐functionalities, the highest number of studies are conducted in vitro (65%), followed by in vivo (30%) and clinical (5%) levels. The mechanisms behind the health‐beneficial effects in biological systems need further characterization. This is essential to support future translational research and clinical trials. Studies on bioactive compounds from Monostroma spp. are still limited. More research is required before developing these compounds as functional food ingredients at an industrial scale.