Microalgae as a Potential Source of Bioactive Food Compounds

Manishaa Sri Mahendran¹, Anto Cordelia Tanislaus Antony Dhanapal¹, Ling Shing Wong², Govindaraju Kasivelu³ and Sinouvassane Djearamane⁴*

¹Department of Chemical Science, Faculty of Science, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Kampar, Malaysia.

²Life Science Division, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, INTI International University, Nilai, Malaysia.

³MoES - Earth Science and Technology Cell (Marine Biotechnological Studies), Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology (Deemed to be University) Chennai, India.

⁴Department of Biomedical Science, Faculty of Science, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Kampar, Malaysia.

Corresponding Author Email: sinouvassane@utar.edu.my

Microalgae are unicellular, photosynthethic organisms that can grow on diverse aquatic habitatss like ponds, lakes, rivers, oceans, wastewater and humid soils. Recently, microalgae are gaining importance as renewable sources of biologically active food compounds such as polysaccharides, proteins, essential fatty acids, biopigments such as chlorophylls, carotenoids, astaxanthin, as well as vitamins and minerals.The bioactive food compounds of microalgae enable them to be part of multitude of applications in numerous industrial products for healthy life and ecosystem. This review article summarizes the applications of biologically active food compounds derived from microalgae as nutraceuticals, healthy dietary supplements, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. Further, this review article highlights the importance of research focus on the identification and extraction of bioactive food compounds from the huge numbers of microlage that exist in nature for sustainable global food security and economy.

Bioactive Food Compounds; Microalgae; Nutraceuticals; Pigments; Therapeutic Applications

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