Nutritional value
The seaweeds are cultivated both for commercial and domestic use in most countries of WIO region such as Tanzania, Kenya, Mozambique and Madagascar. The use of seaweed as food is well known and several nutrients have been identified in different species of seaweed. They contain valuable nutrients such as carbohydrate, minerals such as iron and calcium , fiber, protein which contain essential amino acids, vitamins and trace elements such as iodin\soute (93). Seaweeds are among natural food that provides a highly nutritious but low in calories diet. Seaweeds are therefore the best method that can be used to alleviate nutritional deficiencies of the current food, due to its abundant constituents of nutrients (94).
The use of seaweeds as a staple substance of diet date back to ancient times in several nations like Japan, Korea, and China (95, 96). The nutritional benefit of seaweeds was utilized since 8thcentury and there are about 21 species that are used in everyday meal (97). Some seaweeds were used since time immemorial for honored guests, even for the king (98-100). In Western cookery, there is little tradition of using seaweed though currently there is a renewed interest in the use of seaweed as sea vegetables (101). Seaweed is also used as a functional food due to its effect on one or more physiological functions, as increasing the welfare and decreases the risk of suffering from the onset or development of particular diseases mostly function as preventive rather than curative (102, 103). Moreover, seaweed has found its application as a nutraceutical, as supplements rather than whole food, and marketed as pills and tablets which can provide useful health benefits (104). The bioactive compound in seaweed such asKappaphycus alvarezii and Sargassum tenerrimum contain valuable nutritional value which is important to human health (105).