Enhancing the bio-prospects of microalgal-derived bioactive compounds in food industry: a review

Microalgae are the autotrophic organisms that use light as a source of energy for producing a variety of valuable bioactive compounds like proteins, polysaccharides, lipids, and pigments. Because of its rapid growth rate and ability to survive in severe environmental conditions, currently microalgae are implemented in different industrial sectors. Therefore, being a supplier of various bioactive compounds, microalgae are progressively penetrating into the food market to meet the rising consumer demands. The procedure of acquiring microalgae-derived bioactive compounds begins with the selection of appropriate microalgae species and cultivation following the downstream processing of biomass involving pre-treatment, harvesting, extraction, and purification. However, there are several issues to be resolved for the practical application of microalgae-based foods. High economic cost, low production yield, underdeveloped downstream and upstream processing, uneconomical extraction methods, low product acceptance, and limited information on clinical and non-clinical trials are some of the recent bottlenecks that demands to be acknowledged for the upscaling of extracted bioactive compounds from algal biomass. To conclude, joint efforts are required for revolutionizing algae into a green and novel factory of multiple bioactive compounds for commercial application to fulfil and satisfy universal needs. The present review focuses on the possibilities driven by the microalgae for its successful application in the food industry, analyzing the positive influence of microalgal-derived products on human health, and outlining the current challenges.