Vitamin A refers to a group of related compounds with all-trans retinol biological activity and includes retinol, retinal, retinoic acid as well as the retinyl esters. Dietary source of vitamin A ranges from animal-based or plant-based foods, fortified food products and supplements. The vital biological roles of vitamin A compounds include normal cell growth, cell differentiation, vision and immunology. Vitamin A status is monitored to prevent occurrence of both subclinical deficiency and toxicity. Vitamin deficiency or excess is determined through the measure of vitamin A status. Prolonged vitamin A intake at high doses is shown to be toxic, which leads to various health symptoms. Xerophthalmia, a dry eye condition is the most severe clinical effects known to be caused by vitamin A deficiency. The resulting deleterious effects on human health led to efforts of supplementation, food fortification and dietary diversification in combating vitamin A deficiency. In brief, this chapter covers on vitamin A, with focus on its general information, dietary recommendations, biological roles, vitamin A status assessment, deficiency or excess effects to human health as well as the prevention measures.
Microalgae are known as a rich source of bioactive compounds which exhibit different biological activities. Increased demand for sustainable biomass for production of important bioactive components with various potential especially therapeutic applications has resulted in noticeable interest in algae. Utilization of microalgae in multiple scopes has been growing in various industries ranging from harnessing renewable energy to exploitation of high-value products. The focuses of this review are on the isolation of bioactive compounds from microalgae regarding different metabolites which are currently used and new possible applications of the compounds in industries and future prospects. Moreover, this work discusses the advantage, potential new beneficial strains, applications, limitations, research gaps and future prospect of microalgae in industry.
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