The DOI matches its Crossref record; 102 of the 102 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
The potential and challenge of microalgae as promising future food sources
Abstract
With the increase of the global population, food production cannot keep pace with the strong growth of demand, and the food crisis is not impossible. At the same time, growing environmental concerns are also forcing changes to the traditional food supply system. Microalgae are attracting more and more attention as future food sources. Microalgae have the advantages of strong carbon sequestration ability and high photosynthetic efficiency, and will play an important role in the new food supply system and world carbon neutrality process in the future. This paper reviews the opportunities brought by the progress of microalgae biotechnology for the food application of microalgae, analyzes the application advantages of microalgae products, and summarizes the current challenges. The development direction of microalgae application in the food field was discussed from the aspects of safety, environmental impact, production cost and function. With the advancement of microalgal biotechnology, microalgal products exhibit many interesting benefits in terms of health benefits, functional properties, nutritional value, etc. Microalgal products, like non-animal proteins, high-value compounds and microalgal dry biomass, are gradually penetrating their food market. However, as the development direction of the future food field, there are still many problems to be solved for microalgae-based food. Challenges such as high production costs, low product acceptance and unknown safety, are the current bottlenecks restricting practical application. The joint efforts of people in various fields are needed to promote the development of microalgae-based food.
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In the citing paper
“Challenges such as high production costs, low product acceptance and unknown safety are the current bottlenecks that restrict practical application.”
From SPIRULINA (ARTHROSPIRA PLATENSIS): AN ALTERNATIVE SOURCE OF NUTRIENTS - A REVIEW (2025) · cites this paper as [83]
In the citing paper
“Microalgae are unicellular photosynthetic microorganisms capable of converting solar energy into biochemical energy [18] and biomass containing a variety of useful substances for health, food and feed additives, cosmetics, and energy generation [19,20].”
From Challenges in Functional Food Products with the Incorporation of Some Microalgae (2024) · cites this paper as [20]
In the citing paper
“Microalgae contain nutrient-rich bioactive compounds such as protein, essential amino acids, sulfated polysaccharides, enzymes, fibers, lipids, carotenoids, and vitamins [19,20,21,22].”
From Challenges in Functional Food Products with the Incorporation of Some Microalgae (2024) · cites this paper as [20]
In the citing paper
“Arthrospira platensis and Chlorella vulgaris have been highlighted as natural sources of protein, whereas Dunaliella salina and Haematococcus pluvialis are considered natural sources of pigment (especially because of their content of β-carotene and astaxanthin, respectively) [19,20,22].”
From Challenges in Functional Food Products with the Incorporation of Some Microalgae (2024) · cites this paper as [20]
In the citing paper
“These are crucial parts of a well-rounded diet that aid in nervous system development and help prevent or alleviate various diseases [20].”
From Challenges in Functional Food Products with the Incorporation of Some Microalgae (2024) · cites this paper as [20]
In the citing paper
“Chlorella vulgaris is a green microalga that might be exploited as a food source [19,20].”
From Challenges in Functional Food Products with the Incorporation of Some Microalgae (2024) · cites this paper as [20]
In the citing paper
“Due to its provitamin and antioxidant activities, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has classified Dunaliella as a food source that is Generally Regarded as Safe (GRAS), and it is primarily utilized for human and animal nutrition, food coloring, and cosmetics [20].”
From Challenges in Functional Food Products with the Incorporation of Some Microalgae (2024) · cites this paper as [20]
In the citing paper
“According to the FDA, dietary sources of PUFAs such as EPA and DHA reduce the risk of coronary heart disease [19,20].”
From Challenges in Functional Food Products with the Incorporation of Some Microalgae (2024) · cites this paper as [20]
In the citing paper
“The composition of Arthrospira, as well as the health benefits associated with consuming Arthrospira (or compounds derived from it), indicate that it has the potential to become a significant food and to be employed as an ingredient in the development of functional foods in the future [19,20,86].”
From Challenges in Functional Food Products with the Incorporation of Some Microalgae (2024) · cites this paper as [20]
In the citing paper
“Spirulina and Chlorella are approved and the most widely consumed microalgae, and their entire biomass can be used in culinary products and marketed directly to consumers in European countries [19,20].”
From Challenges in Functional Food Products with the Incorporation of Some Microalgae (2024) · cites this paper as [20]
In the citing paper
“Several microalgae, such as Arthrospira platensis, Chlorella vulgaris, and Dunaliella bardawil, are examples of GRAS-approved microalgae [19,20,86].”
From Challenges in Functional Food Products with the Incorporation of Some Microalgae (2024) · cites this paper as [20]
In the citing paper
“Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) found in microalgae (Table 4) have been shown to be effective in the prevention and treatment of a wide range of diseases, including cancer and cardiovascular disease [20,41,88].”
From Challenges in Functional Food Products with the Incorporation of Some Microalgae (2024) · cites this paper as [20]
In the citing paper
“In terms of food type, it is easier to include microalgae in baked items such as bread, cookies, and pasta than other dietary items, such as yogurt [19,20].”
From Challenges in Functional Food Products with the Incorporation of Some Microalgae (2024) · cites this paper as [20]
In the citing paper
“Consumers’ ability to tolerate the taste of microalgae-based foods is one such factor [19,20].”
From Challenges in Functional Food Products with the Incorporation of Some Microalgae (2024) · cites this paper as [20]
In the citing paper
“Consumers believed that the product was better for their health, and because of this, they were willing to pay a higher price for it.”
From Challenges in Functional Food Products with the Incorporation of Some Microalgae (2024) · cites this paper as [20]
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Self-citation
Metadata
- Authors
- Chen, C., Tang, T., Shi, Q., Zhou, Z., & Fan, J.
- Affiliations
- East China University of Science and Technology (CN)
- Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
- Shihezi University (CN)
- Corresponding author
- Fan, Jianhua
- Venue
- Trends in Food Science & Technology
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2022-08
- Volume
- 126
- Pages
- 99-112
- ISSN
- 0924-2244 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W4283781732
- Cited by
- 229
- References
- 102
- Citations by year
- 2026: 52 · 2025: 70 · 2024: 53 · 2023: 47 · 2022: 7
- FWCI
- 7.97
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- Locations
- Trends in Food Science & Technology (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Key Project for Synthetic Biology
- Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province (ZR2019ZD17)
- State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering
- National Key Research and Development Program of China (2019YFA0906300, 2020YFA0907304)
- Natural Science Foundation of Shanghai (21ZR1416400)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Energy › Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment › Algal biology and biofuel production
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Food Science › Food Industry and Aquatic Biology
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Aquatic Science › Seaweed-derived Bioactive Compounds
- Keywords
- microalgae, alternative protein sources, microalgal biotechnology, food safety, production costs, functional properties, nutritional value, carbon sequestration, food supply system, food crisis, carbon neutrality, consumer acceptance
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