Biological Activities of Green Macroalgae Enteromorpha Prolifera for Potential Applications

Algae are classified as unicellular microalgae and macroalgae, which are macroscopic plants of marine benthoses. Macroalgae, also known as seaweed, are distinguished according to the nature of their pigments: brown seaweed (phaeophyta), red seaweed (rhodophyta) and green seaweed (chlorophyta) [1]. Seaweeds are considered as a source of bioactive compounds as they are able to produce a great variety of secondary metabolites characterized by a broad spectrum of biological activities. In the summer of 2008, the large accumulations of green macroalgal biomass occurred in the Yellow Sea brought serious ecological damage and economic losses [2]. Morphological and molecular identification showed that the main species of the green tide is Enteromorpha (Ulva) prolifera, which is a macroalgae belongs to the order of Ulvales and the family of Ulvaceae (Figure 1). E. prolifera is one of the most popular green seaweeds in Asian countries. It is better known as Enteromorpha prolifera.