London, Dec 24 (IANS) Foods that can fight obesity or cut down cardiac risks and chocolate that soothes are among a slew of superfoods sourced from the sea, its animals and plants.

Like Japan, Ireland is already well on the way to becoming a player in this global multi-billion industry, according to a new study.

'Our seas are a huge reservoir for bioactive compounds that can be incorporated into food additives which can be harnessed for human health,' said Maria Hayes, a scientific project manager at NutraMara, which aims to identify novel marine food ingredients and products.

NutraMara is a marine functional foods joint research initiative, led by Teagasc Ashtown Food Research Centre (TAFRC) and funded by the Marine Institute and Ireland's Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.

Launched in April 2008, NutraMara is led by DeclanTroy of TAFRC and involves collaboration of up to 30 scientists across Ireland.

Padraigin Harnedy, proejct member, is researching seaweed as a source of 'biofunctional peptides' - protein molecules that promote health by blocking certain harmful chemical pathways in the human body, such as the deposition of cholesterol in blood vessels.

However, none can be quite as exciting as the NutraMara's development of an ingredient that can actually reduce human obesity. A startling statistic showed that in a 2004 survey, 67 percent Americans could be considered overweight, while 34 percent was considered obese.

'Obesity is a major threat to human health and a worldwide problem,' said Bahar Bojul of University College Dublin, who is researching the use of a compound found in the shells of crabs and shrimps.

The compound, called 'chitosan', interferes with three key factors that upset our body's natural mechanisms to balance the amount of food we eat against our need for energy.

Animal trials of chitosan have already been successfully performed, showing that the compound reduces food uptake significantly, said a TAFRC release.

As such, this represents a major discovery and a possible remedy for a condition that contributes to some 2,000 obesity-related deaths in Ireland each year.

These findings were presented at the TAFRC in Dublin.