Pharmacological and natural products diversity of the brown algae genus<i>Sargassum</i>

<i>Sargassum</i> (F. Sargassaceae) is an important seaweed excessively distributed in tropical and subtropical regions. Different species of <i>Sargassum</i> have folk applications in human nutrition and are considered a rich source of vitamins, carotenoids, proteins, and minerals. Many bioactive compounds chemically classified as terpenoids, sterols, sulfated polysaccharides, polyphenols, sargaquinoic acids, sargachromenol, and pheophytin were isolated from different <i>Sargassum</i> species. These isolated compounds and/or extracts exhibit diverse biological activities, including analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, neuroprotective, anti-microbial, anti-tumor, fibrinolytic, immune-modulatory, anti-coagulant, hepatoprotective, and anti-viral activities. This review covers the literature from 1974 to 2020 on the genus <i>Sargassum</i>, and reveal the active components together with their biological activities according to their structure to create a base for additional studies on the clinical applications of <i>Sargassum</i>.