eng Enviro Research Publishers Current Research in Nutrition and Food Science Journal 2347-467X 2322-0007 2026-10-28 14 3 27040 article Praseed Sarkar 1 Mandakini Devi Hanjabam 2 Layana Porayil 1 Suman Manna 2 Leesa Priyadarsani 2 Kochery Augustin Martin Xavier 3 Fisheries Resource Harvest and Post-Harvest Management Division, ICAR-Central Institute of Fisheries Education, Mumbai, India ICAR-Central Institute of Fisheries Education, Kolkata Centre, Kolkata, India Quality Assurance and Management Division, ICAR-Central Institute of Fisheries Technology, Cochin, India Fish Processing Division, ICAR-Central Institute of Fisheries Technology, Cochin, India Seaweeds offer a range of nutritional and bioactive benefits that can contribute to improved human health. Sargassum wightii, a commonly found brown seaweed is used for enhancing the properties of fish crackers. Two forms of Sargassum wightii i.e flakes (SF) and extract (SE) at 2% inclusion level were incorporated and assess the nutritional, antioxidant properties, sensory, and storage quality of the final crackers. The moisture content does not differ significantly among the crackers. Overall, the addition of Sargassum wightii in flakes (SF) form significantly (p<0.05) increased the protein and insoluble fiber content in the crackers as compared to other formulations. However, SE crackers exhibited the highest antioxidant activity, with a total phenolic content of 3.53 mg GAE/g, ferrous chelating activity of 48.65%, and reducing power of 1.60 mg AAE/g. All the cracker formulations exhibited rich in macro minerals, with sodium predominating, followed by minerals like potassium and magnesium. The formulations also contained measurable amounts of manganese and copper. In term of amino acids composition, the SF crackers had higher levels of amino acids having bitter taste compared to both the control and the seaweed extract incorporated crackers. Sensory evaluations indicated a significantly greater (p<0.05) hedonic score in texture and taste of SE fried crackers on 0^th day as well as 60^th day of storage.  In conclusion, the findings highlight that incorporating Sargassum wightii, particularly in extract form, is highly advantageous for enhancing antioxidant activity and storage quality. While seaweed flakes improve the nutritional quality of crackers, they show limited acceptability in terms of sensory attributes. Therefore, the acceptability of seaweed in food products can be improved by using it in extract form rather than in powder or flakes form. The limitation of the study is that the sensory acceptability is performed by semi-trained panelist, therefore consumer validation study on larger scale would improve the scope of commercialization of the product. https://www.foodandnutritionjournal.org/volume14number3/influence-of-seaweed-flakes-and-extract-on-the-nutritional-antioxidant-and-shelf-life-properties-of-fish-crackers/ Antioxidant Fish crackers Seaweed flakes Seaweed extract Sensory