Research Progresses on the Physiological and Pharmacological Benefits of Microalgae-Derived Biomolecules

Abstract

Microalgae are a kind of photoautotrophic microorganism, which are small, fast in their growth rate, and widely distributed in seawater and freshwater. They have strong adaptability to diverse environmental conditions and contain various nutrients. Many scholars have suggested that microalgae can be considered as a new food source, which should be developed extensively. More importantly, in addition to containing nutrients, microalgae are able to produce a great number of active compounds such as long-chain unsaturated fatty acids, pigments, alkaloids, astaxanthin, fucoidan, etc. Many of these compounds have been proven to possess very important physiological functions such as anti-oxidation, anti-inflammation, anti-tumor functions, regulation of the metabolism, etc. This article aimed to review the physiological functions and benefits of the main microalgae-derived bioactive molecules with their physiological effects.

Microalgae Octapeptide IIAVEAGC Alleviates Oxidative Stress and Neurotoxicity in 6‐OHDA‐Induced SH‐SY5Y Cells by Regulating the Nrf2/HO‐1and Jak2/Stat3 Pathways

“…[10,11] Microalgae are considered a high-quality nutritional source for human health due to their abundant primary and secondary bioactive metabolites, such as polypeptides, lipids, vitamin polyunsaturated fatty acids, and polyphenols. [12] The potential health benefits of microalgae and their respective bioactive compounds include anti-oxidant, anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, and immunomodulatory aspects. [13,14] According to earlier published results, microalgae and their bioactive compounds have the potential for neuroprotection.…”

“…The marine environment has been revealed to be an interesting source of new active substances with great pharmacological potential [10,11] . Microalgae are considered a high‐quality nutritional source for human health due to their abundant primary and secondary bioactive metabolites, such as polypeptides, lipids, vitamin polyunsaturated fatty acids, and polyphenols [12] . The potential health benefits of microalgae and their respective bioactive compounds include anti‐oxidant, anti‐cancer, anti‐inflammatory, and immunomodulatory aspects [13,14] .…”

Research Progress of Protein-Based Bioactive Substance Nanoparticles

“…Bioactive substances that are present in nature generally have powerful physiological or pharmacological effects, such as curcumin [ 4 ], tocopherols [ 5 ], flavonoids [ 6 ], resveratrol [ 7 ], anthocyanins [ 8 ], puerarin [ 9 ], ferulic acid [ 10 ], and carvacrol [ 11 ], which are not essential for maintaining human growth and development but have significant health benefits [ 12 ]. Recent research has shown that bioactive substances have plenty of functions—such as antioxidant [ 13 ], anti-inflammatory [ 14 ], antibacterial [ 15 ], anticancer, and immunomodulatory [ 16 , 17 ] functions—and play an important role in health maintenance, disease prevention, and physiological function regulation. However, owing to their physicochemical properties, most bioactive substances are environmentally sensitive, unstable to light and heat, easily damaged or degraded, structurally altered, thus reducing or losing their activity, and have low bioavailability [ 18 , 19 , 20 ].…”

Anticancer Effects of Fucoxanthin through Cell Cycle Arrest, Apoptosis Induction, Angiogenesis Inhibition, and Autophagy Modulation

“…The miRNA is then degraded, cleaved, or mediated by translational stimulation. Fucoxanthin has been shown to decrease levels of mir-146b expression[230].…”