CHAPTER 5: Production of High-value Metabolites from Microalgae
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Published:10 May 2021
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E. T. Chua, F. Alsenani, R. Ma, H. Alsufyani, and P. Schenk, in Microalgal Biotechnology: Recent Advances, Market Potential, and Sustainability, ed. A. Shekh, P. Schenk, and R. Sarada, The Royal Society of Chemistry, 2021, pp. 135-168.
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Microalgae can be highly efficient photosynthetic biofactories of high-value products, which has prompted the rise of numerous microalgae companies in the past few years. This chapter summarises the different types of high-value products from microalgae that are of recent interest. It evaluates the findings from various scientific studies that demonstrated how the production of these high-value compounds can be maximised, either by specific growth conditions or by the use of external stimuli. In addition, the benefits of the bioactivities of each high-value product and their current trends for commercialisation are highlighted. In particular, the two main challenges to produce microalgal high-value products, harvesting and extraction, are discussed together with the practical aspects and new techniques that have recently been developed. Microalgae have great potential for producing significant amounts of high-quality food-grade products for human consumption in the near future.