17.1 Introduction
Ocean or Marine life denotes the life of various organism which inhabits in the
saltwater of the sea or near the coastal subculture and due to its remarkable biodiversity, it has become a huge stock of natural resources for many biologically
active compounds (Bellisle et al. 1998). More than 200,000 marine species are
already reported and 2 million are yet to be documented (Fiszman and Salvador
2003). Marine species vary in size including small phytoplankton (0.02 mm) to
large cetaceans e.g. whales, dolphins, blue whale, etc. It also includes various
microorganisms like bacteria, algae, fungi, viruses, etc. (Plaza et al. 2008). Today
marine organism is well known as a potent source of the bioactive compound
because of its complex habitat and exposure to extreme condition. Thus, these
potent bioactive compounds which act as a good source of nutrition also exhibit
potent biological activities. Peptides, polysaccharides which are isolated from
various marine sources produce anticancer, anticoagulant activities. A marine
sponge, (genus: Insignia) for example is a good source of terpenoids and these
terpenoids consists of tetronic acids which act as anti-inflammatory, analgesic and
antibiotic agents (Diplock et al. 1999).
17.2 Marine Organisms: Source of Nutrition
17.2.1 Proteins
Proteins are considered as one of the most essential nutrients for our body system. It
consists of one or more than one long chain of amino acid residues (the building
block of protein) which is coded by the genetic (DNA) code along with a no. of
other amino acids (Kadam and Prabhasankar 2005). There are twenty different
types of amino acids which are classified into two categories (i) EAA (Essential
amino acid) and (ii) NEAA (Non-Essential amino acid). EAAs are nine in numbers
and they cannot be produced by the body itself, thus they are taken from foods or
outer sources. On another hand, NEAAs are eleven in numbers and they can be
produced by the body itself (Amado et al. 2013). In Table 17.1 name of twenty
amino acids with their 3 letters abbreviation is mentioned (Kim et al. 2010).
The primary function of protein includes catalytic reactions, DNA replication,
production of antibodies, etc. (Sheraji et al. 2013). Seafood is well known for its
outstanding source of protein which includes all essential amino acids in an adequate amount for humans (Freitas et al. 2012). On various chemical analysis, it was
found that marine food consists of 9–24% of protein which is well digestible to
human beings. For example, Halibut fish consists of 19% proteins with all EAA in
an adequate amount (Ar-6%, His-1.66%, Cys-6.16%, Trp-1.64%, and Cys 1.45%)
(Damodaran et al. 1997; Lum et al. 2013).
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D. Pal and K. Raj
Ocean or Marine life denotes the life of various organism which inhabits in the
saltwater of the sea or near the coastal subculture and due to its remarkable biodiversity, it has become a huge stock of natural resources for many biologically
active compounds (Bellisle et al. 1998). More than 200,000 marine species are
already reported and 2 million are yet to be documented (Fiszman and Salvador
2003). Marine species vary in size including small phytoplankton (0.02 mm) to
large cetaceans e.g. whales, dolphins, blue whale, etc. It also includes various
microorganisms like bacteria, algae, fungi, viruses, etc. (Plaza et al. 2008). Today
marine organism is well known as a potent source of the bioactive compound
because of its complex habitat and exposure to extreme condition. Thus, these
potent bioactive compounds which act as a good source of nutrition also exhibit
potent biological activities. Peptides, polysaccharides which are isolated from
various marine sources produce anticancer, anticoagulant activities. A marine
sponge, (genus: Insignia) for example is a good source of terpenoids and these
terpenoids consists of tetronic acids which act as anti-inflammatory, analgesic and
antibiotic agents (Diplock et al. 1999).
17.2 Marine Organisms: Source of Nutrition
17.2.1 Proteins
Proteins are considered as one of the most essential nutrients for our body system. It
consists of one or more than one long chain of amino acid residues (the building
block of protein) which is coded by the genetic (DNA) code along with a no. of
other amino acids (Kadam and Prabhasankar 2005). There are twenty different
types of amino acids which are classified into two categories (i) EAA (Essential
amino acid) and (ii) NEAA (Non-Essential amino acid). EAAs are nine in numbers
and they cannot be produced by the body itself, thus they are taken from foods or
outer sources. On another hand, NEAAs are eleven in numbers and they can be
produced by the body itself (Amado et al. 2013). In Table 17.1 name of twenty
amino acids with their 3 letters abbreviation is mentioned (Kim et al. 2010).
The primary function of protein includes catalytic reactions, DNA replication,
production of antibodies, etc. (Sheraji et al. 2013). Seafood is well known for its
outstanding source of protein which includes all essential amino acids in an adequate amount for humans (Freitas et al. 2012). On various chemical analysis, it was
found that marine food consists of 9–24% of protein which is well digestible to
human beings. For example, Halibut fish consists of 19% proteins with all EAA in
an adequate amount (Ar-6%, His-1.66%, Cys-6.16%, Trp-1.64%, and Cys 1.45%)
(Damodaran et al. 1997; Lum et al. 2013).
588
D. Pal and K. Raj