The promising future of microalgae: current status, challenges, and optimization of a sustainable and renewable industry for biofuels, feed, and other products

In the paper

“Microalgae are rapidly growing photosynthetic organisms having potential of transforming 9–10% of solar energy (average sunlight irradiance) into biomass with a theoretical yield of about 77 g/biomass/m2/day which is about 280 ton/ha/year [13, 14].”

What the sources say

• Not checked yetcites [13] Formighieri C, Franck F, Bassi R. Regulation of the pigment optical density of an algal cell: filling the gap between photosynthetic productivity in the laboratory and in mass culture. J Biotechnol. 2012;162:115–23. source
• Supported

  The productivity table lists a theoretical solar-to-biomass conversion efficiency of 8–10%, a yield of 77 g dry biomass m⁻² day⁻¹, and its equivalent of 280 tons ha⁻¹ year⁻¹. Section 3 calculates these maxima using average daily sunlight; the claim correctly presents the yield as theoretical, not an achieved production rate. (LLM, conf=0.94)

  cites [14] Melis A. Solar energy conversion efficiencies in photosynthesis: minimizing the chlorophyll antennae to maximize efficiency. Plant Sci. 2009;177:272–80. source

In the paper

“It has been reported that 1 kg of algal biomass is can fix 1.83 kg of CO2 furthermore some species use SOx and NOx as nutrient flow along with CO2 [11].”

What the sources say

• Not checked yetcites [11] Gendy TS, El-Temtamy SA. Commercialization potential aspects of microalgae for biofuel production: an overview. Egypt J Pet. 2013;22:43–51. source

In the paper

“Microalgae have recently attracted considerable interest worldwide, due to their extensive application potential in the renewable energy, biopharmaceutical, and nutraceutical industries.”

In the paper

“Several microalgae species have been investigated for their potential as value-added products with remarkable pharmacological and biological qualities.”

In the paper

“Biofuels including algal fuels have oxygen levels of 10–45% and very low levels of sulphur emission while petroleum-based fuels have no oxygen levels with high sulphur emission.”

In the paper

“Microalgae have a significant ability to convert atmospheric CO2 to useful products such as carbohydrates, lipids, and other bioactive metabolites.”

In the paper

“Microalgae are renewable, sustainable, and economical sources of biofuels, bioactive medicinal products, and food ingredients.”

In the paper

“Algae are produced in quantity and sold directly as food and nutrient supplements, while their processed products or extracts are used in biopharmaceuticals and cosmetics [5–7].”

What the sources say

• Not checked yetcites [5] Luiten EE, Akkerman I, Koulman A, Kamermans P, Reith H, Barbosa MJ, Sipkema D, Wijffels RH. Realizing the promises of marine biotechnology. Biomol Eng. 2003;20:429–39. source
• Not checked yetcites [6] Michael A. Borowitzka high-value products from microalgae their development and commercialization. J Appl Phycol. 2013;25:743–56. source
• Not checked yetcites [7] Pulz O, Gross G. Valuable products from biotechnology of microalgae. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol. 2004;65(6):635–48. source

In the paper

“Microalgae algae-based fuels are ecofriendly, nontoxic and with strong potential of fixing global CO2.”

In the paper

“The advantageous features of biofuels produced from biomass are renewability and a significantly smaller contribution to environmental pollution and global warming.”

In the paper

“CO2 constitutes 50% of dry weight of algal biomass.”

In the paper

“As biofuels, they are a perfect substitute to liquid fossil fuels with respect to cost, renewability, and environmental concerns.”

In the paper

“The most challenging and crucial issues are enhancing microalgae growth rate and product synthesis, dewatering algae culture for biomass production, pretreating biomass, and optimizing the fermentation process in case of algal bioethanol production.”

In the paper

“Biofuels such as biodiesel and bioethanol are proving to be excellent alternative fuels and can be produced from several resources of biomass, such as food crops, crop wastes or fruits, woody parts of plants, garbage, and algae [8, 9].”

What the sources say

• Not checked yetcites [8] Harun R, Danquah MK, Forde GM. Microalgal biomass as a fermentation feedstock for bioethanol production. J Chem Technol Biotechnol. 2010;85:199–203. source
• Not checked yetcites [9] Ho SH, Chen WM, Chang G. Scenedesmus obliquus CNW-N as a potential candidate for CO2 mitigation and biodiesel production. Bioresour Technol. 2010;101(22):8725–30. source

In the paper

“Although microalgae are feasible sources for bioenergy and biopharmaceuticals in general, some limitations and challenges remain, which must be overcome to upgrade the technology from pilot-phase to industrial level.”

In the paper

“Biofuels are non-polluting, locally available, accessible, sustainable and reliable fuel obtained from renewable sources.”

In the paper

“Some researchers have used mechanical methods, such as ultra-sonication, microwaves, and beating, to degrade algal biomass [114, 115].”

What the sources say

• Not checked yetcites [114] Passos F, Hernandez-Marine M, Garcia J, Ferrer I. Long-term anaerobic digestion of microalgae grown in HRAP for wastewater treatment. Effect of microwave pretreatment. Water Res. 2014;49:351–9. source
• Not checked yetcites [115] Zhao G, Chen X, Wang L, Zhou S, Feng H, Chen WN, et al. Ultrasound assisted extraction of carbohydrates from microalgae as feedstock for yeast fermentation. Bioresour Technol. 2013;128:337–44. source

In the paper

“Microalgae can feed on industrial wastes and the processing energy is less than the energy produced by the algae [20–22].”

What the sources say

• Not checked yetcites [20] Paniagua-Michel J, Farfan BC, Buckle Ramirez LF. Culture of marine microalgae with natural biodigested resources. Aquaculture. 2011;64:249–56. source
• Not checked yetcites [21] Singh A, Ohlsen SI. A critical review of biochemical conversion, sustainability and life cycle assessment of algal biofuels. Appl Energy. 2011;88:3548–55. source
• Not checked yetcites [22] Zamora Castro JE, Paniagua-Michel J, Lezama- Cervantes C. A novel approach for bioremediation of a coastal marine wastewater effluent based on artificial microbial mats. Mar Biotechnol. 2008;10:181–9. source

In the paper

“In several aspects, microalgae feedstock is competent and preferable to produce biofuels for examples microalgae don not require cultivable land and fresh water for cultivation, they are not edible therefore no effect on human and animal’s food chain, can be grown to serval folds irrespective to seasonal conditions, mitigation of atmospheric CO2 and treatment of waste water [18, 19].”

What the sources say

• Not checked yetcites [18] Park H, Lee C. Theoretical calculations on the feasibility of microalgal biofuels: utilization of marine resources could help realizing the potential of microalgae. Biotechnol J. 2016;11(11):1461–70. https://doi.org/10.1002/biot.201600041 . source
• Not checked yetcites [19] Pandey A. Microalgae biomass production for CO2 mitigation and biodiesel production. J Microbiol Exp. 2017;4(4):00117. https://doi.org/10.15406/jmen.2017.04.00117 . source

In the paper

“Absence of lignocellulosic materials in microalgae cell wall facilitate the pretreatment process and reduce overall cost of production.”

In the paper

“Proper shaking and mixing of the culture in the bioreactor is necessary for uniform distribution of light energy to avail the same strength to all the cells to convert maximum light energy to biomass.”

In the paper

“In several aspects, microalgae feedstock is competent and preferable to produce biofuels for examples microalgae don not require cultivable land and fresh water for cultivation, they are not edible therefore no effect on human and animal’s food chain, can be grown to serval folds irrespective to seasonal conditions, mitigation of atmospheric CO2 and treatment of waste water [18, 19].”

What the sources say

• Not checked yetcites [18] Park H, Lee C. Theoretical calculations on the feasibility of microalgal biofuels: utilization of marine resources could help realizing the potential of microalgae. Biotechnol J. 2016;11(11):1461–70. https://doi.org/10.1002/biot.201600041 . source
• Not checked yetcites [19] Pandey A. Microalgae biomass production for CO2 mitigation and biodiesel production. J Microbiol Exp. 2017;4(4):00117. https://doi.org/10.15406/jmen.2017.04.00117 . source

In the paper

“Microalgae store photosynthetic products as cellulose, starch, and hemicellulose; some species also accumulate galactan.”

In the paper

“Currently, the USA and Brazil are the world leaders in the production of bioethanol. Their contribution is approximately 75–80% of the world total bioethanol production [32, 34].”

What the sources say

• Not checked yetcites [32] Walker GM. Fuel alcohol: current production and future challenges. J Inst Brew. 2011;117(1):3–22. source
• Not checked yetcites [34] Jegannathan KR, Chan ES, Ravindra P. Harnessing biofuels: a global Renaissance in energy production? Renew Sustain Energy Rev. 2009;13(8):2163–8. source

In the paper

“Additionally, crop foods require arable land and large amounts of water, which makes their use for fuel production unsustainable and thus, incomputable as alternative liquid fuels [23, 24].”

What the sources say

• Not checked yetcites [23] Gavrilescu M, Chisti Y. Biotechnology a sustainable alternative for chemical industry. Biotechnol Adv. 2005;23:471–99. source
• Not checked yetcites [24] Hannon M, Gimpel J, Tran M, Rasala B, Mayfield S. Biofuels from algae: challenges and potential. Biofuels. 2010;1(5):763–84. source

In the paper

“Depending on the purpose of pretreatment, chemical, biological, thermochemical, or thermophysical methods are used, sometimes in combination [105, 106].”

What the sources say

• Not checked yetcites [105] Alvira P, Tomas-Pejo E, Ballesteros M, Negro MJ. Pretreatment technologies for an efficient bioethanol production process based on enzymatic hydrolysis: a review. Bioresour Technol. 2010;101:4851–61. source
• Not checked yetcites [106] Chandra RP, Bura R, Mabee WE, Berlin A, Pan X, Saddler JN. Substrate pretreatment: the key to effective enzymatic hydrolysis of lignocellulosics? Adv Biochem Eng Biotechnol. 2007;108:67–93.

In the paper

“Most of the microalgae species are favorable for biodiesel production due to high lipids contents 50–70% and may reach to 80% such as in case of the microlaga B. braunii which accumulate up to 80% of oil in it biomass [25–27].”

What the sources say

• Not checked yetcites [25] Chisti Y. Biodiesel from microalgae. Biotechnol Adv. 2007;25(3):294–306. source
• Not checked yetcites [26] Powell EE, Hill GA. Economic assessment of an integrated bioethanol-biodiesel-microbial fuel cell facility utilizing yeast and photosynthetic algae. Chem Eng Res Des. 2009;87(9):1340–8. source
• Not checked yetcites [27] Mata TM, Martins AA, Caetano NS. Microalgae for biodiesel production and other applications: a review. Renew Sust Energy Rev. 2010;14(1):217–32. source

In the paper

“Bioethanol is one of the major and clean biofuel used as transportation fuel.”

In the paper

“Many countries in Asia, Europe, and America have started industrialization of bioenergy from microalgae biomass.”

In the paper

“After lysis of the cells the macromolecules of sugars need saccharification which mean to break the α-(1 → 4), α-(1 → 6), β-(1 → 3) and β-(1 → 6) glycosidic linkages between the monomers to release the monomers units [107].”

What the sources say

• Not checked yetcites [107] Rajarapu SP, Scharf ME. Saccharification of agricultural lignocellulose feedstocks and protein-level responses by a termite gut-microbe bioreactor. Front Energy Res. 2017;5:5. source

In the paper

“In several aspects, microalgae feedstock is competent and preferable to produce biofuels for examples microalgae don not require cultivable land and fresh water for cultivation, they are not edible therefore no effect on human and animal’s food chain, can be grown to serval folds irrespective to seasonal conditions, mitigation of atmospheric CO2 and treatment of waste water [18, 19].”

What the sources say

• Not checked yetcites [18] Park H, Lee C. Theoretical calculations on the feasibility of microalgal biofuels: utilization of marine resources could help realizing the potential of microalgae. Biotechnol J. 2016;11(11):1461–70. https://doi.org/10.1002/biot.201600041 . source
• Not checked yetcites [19] Pandey A. Microalgae biomass production for CO2 mitigation and biodiesel production. J Microbiol Exp. 2017;4(4):00117. https://doi.org/10.15406/jmen.2017.04.00117 . source

In the paper

“Weak acids cannot successfully lyse the cells to extract the inner sugars, while excessively strong acids reduce sugars to furfural, thereby decreasing the final yield of monomeric sugars.”

In the paper

“Thus, mechanical methods of pretreatment yield biodiesel, while enzymatic and chemical methods (including acidic hydrolysis) are used in bioethanol production, because fermentative bioethanol production requires degradation of cellulose, hemicellulose, and starch.”

In the paper

“The algal fuels technology is still incipient, and much improvement is required to make it commercially attractive to both, investors and consumers.”

In the paper

“Second generation biofuels involve terrestrial plants, especially food crops as feedstocks, a highly controversial issue, since biofuels production from food crops can only occur at the expense of their use as food and feed.”

What the sources say

• Not checked yetcites [23] Gavrilescu M, Chisti Y. Biotechnology a sustainable alternative for chemical industry. Biotechnol Adv. 2005;23:471–99. source
• Not checked yetcites [24] Hannon M, Gimpel J, Tran M, Rasala B, Mayfield S. Biofuels from algae: challenges and potential. Biofuels. 2010;1(5):763–84. source

In the paper

“Microalgae are capable of producing algal oil 58,700 L/hac which can produce 121,104 L/hac biodiesels [11, 28, 29].”

What the sources say

• Not checked yetcites [11] Gendy TS, El-Temtamy SA. Commercialization potential aspects of microalgae for biofuel production: an overview. Egypt J Pet. 2013;22:43–51. source
• Not checked yetcites [28] Medipally SR, Fatimah M, Banerjee YS, Shariff M. Microalgae as sustainable renewable energy feedstock for biofuel production. Biomed Res Int. 2015. https://doi.org/10.1155/2015/519513 . source
• Not checked yetcites [29] Gouveia L, Oliveira AC. Microalgae as a raw material for biofuels production. J Ind Microbiol Biot. 2009;36:269–74. source

In the paper

“They produce vitamins, which elevates their importance as a nutritional food for people and animals [136, 142].”

What the sources say

• Not checked yetcites [136] Borowitzka MA. Vitamins and fine chemicals from microalgae. In: Borowitzka MA, Borowitzka LJ, editors. Micro-algal biotechnology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; 1998. p. 153–96.
• Not checked yetcites [142] Cuellar-Bermudez SP, Aguilar-Hernandez I, Cardenas-Chavez DL, Ornelas-Soto N, Romero-Ogawa MA, Parra-Saldivar R. Extraction and purification of high-value metabolites from microalgae: essential lipids, astaxanthin and phycobiliproteins. Microb Biotechnol. 2015;8:190–209. source

In the paper

“Microalgae synthesize starch, cellulose, hemicelluloses, and other polysaccharides from simple monomeric sugars: basically, glucose.”

In the paper

“Microalgae are an excellent source of food and other important bioproducts, such as natural antibiotics [137–139].”

What the sources say

• Not checked yetcites [137] Becker W. Microalgae in human and animal nutrition. In: Richmond A, editor. Handbook of microalgal culture. Oxford: Blackwell; 2004. p. 312–51.
• Not checked yetcites [138] Borowitzka MA. Microalgae as sources of pharmaceuticals and other biologically active compounds. J Appl Phycol. 1995;7:3–15. source
• Not checked yetcites [139] Cornet JF. Le technoscopeles photobioreacteurs. Biofutur. 1998;176:1–10.

In the paper

“Cultivation of microalgae started only a few decades ago, when it became clear that the fast-growing world population was likely to suffer a lack of protein-rich food stuffs [136].”

What the sources say

• Not checked yetcites [136] Borowitzka MA. Vitamins and fine chemicals from microalgae. In: Borowitzka MA, Borowitzka LJ, editors. Micro-algal biotechnology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; 1998. p. 153–96.

In the paper

“Lipids in algal cells are present mainly in the form of glycerol, esterified sugars to different types of fatty acids (12–22 carbon atoms).”

In the paper

“They do not contaminate the environment, but they do impose higher costs, due to the consumption of energy [116, 117].”

What the sources say

• Not checked yetcites [116] Goettel M, Eing C, Gusbeth C, Straessner R, Frey W. Pulsed electric field assisted extraction of intracellular valuables from microalgae. Algal Res. 2013;2(4):401–8. source
• Not checked yetcites [117] Sheng J, Vannela R, Rittmann BE. Evaluation of cell-disruption effects of pulsed-electric-field treatment of Synechocystis PCC 6803. Environ Sci Technol. 2011;45(8):3795–802. source

In the paper

“Algae biomass contains different types of fermentable sugars, therefore combination of the fermenter microorganisms is preferable and effective, because different microorganisms have different rates of conversion for different substrates [134].”

What the sources say

• Not checked yetcites [134] Khan MI, Lee MG, Shin JH, Kim JD. Pretreatment optimization of the biomass of Microcystis aeruginosa for efficient bioethanol production. AMB Express. 2017;7:19. source

In the paper

“For bioethanol production to be viable, all the different types of sugars (pentoses and hexoses) must be converted to bioethanol.”

In the paper

“The world energy crisis in the 1970s led to the identification of algae as renewable and sustainable sources for biofuels production, prompting the exploration of microalgae as a new field of research for fuels and other valuable products [10, 140].”

What the sources say

• Not checked yetcites [10] Paul Abishek M, Patel J, Prem Rajan A. Algae oil: a sustainable renewable fuel of future. Biotechnol Res Int. 2014;2014:272814. https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/272814 . source
• Not checked yetcites [140] Pulz O, Gross W. Valuable products from biotechnology of microalgae. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol. 2004;65:635–48. source

In the paper

“Scenedesmus dimorphus accumulated 53.7 w/w carbohydrate contents which on hydrolysis with sulfuric acids produced 80% fermentable sugars, indicating its feasibility for bioethanol production [132].”

What the sources say

• Not checked yetcites [132] Chng LM, Lee KT, Chan DJ. Evaluation on microalgae biomass for bioethanol production. Mater Sci Eng A. 2017;206:12–8.

In the paper

“According to one estimate, about 5000 metric tons of dry algal biomass processed for bioproducts generates US$ 1.25 × 109 each year [140].”

What the sources say

• Not checked yetcites [140] Pulz O, Gross W. Valuable products from biotechnology of microalgae. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol. 2004;65:635–48. source

In the paper

“However, the carbohydrates in algal biomass are mostly in polymeric form and need conversion to monomers unit to be readily fermented by microorganisms to produce bioethanol [131].”

What the sources say

• Not checked yetcites [131] Al Abdallah Q, Nixon BT, Fortwendel JR. The enzymatic conversion of major algal and cyanobacterial carbohydrates to bioethanol. Front Energy Res. 2016. https://doi.org/10.3389/fenrg.2016.00036 . source

In the paper

“Microalgae also produce and accumulate large amounts of lipids, which vary among species and are affected by various factors [145].”

What the sources say

• Not checked yetcites [145] Duong VT, Ahmed F, Thomas-Hall SR, Quigley S, Nowak E, Schenk PM. High protein- and high lipid-producing microalgae from northern australia as potential feedstock for animal feed and biodiesel. Front Bioeng Biotechnol. 2015;3:53. https://doi.org/10.3389/fbioe.2015.00053 . source

In the paper

“These pigments are crucial in therapies for tumorigenesis, neuronal disorders, and optical diseases.”

In the paper

“The first large-scale culture of the microalga Chlorella for commercial purposes was reported in Japan, in the 1960s [141].”

What the sources say

• Not checked yetcites [141] Iwamoto H. Industrial production of microalgal cell-mass and secondary products major industrial species Chlorella. In: Richmond A, editor. Handbook of microalgal culture. Oxford: Blackwell; 2004. p. 255–63.

In the paper

“It has been reported that the genetically engineered strain of P. tricornutum produce a maximum yield of 36.5 and 23.6% of DHA and EPA per total fatty acids of biomass indicating its feasibility for production of EPA and DHA at commercial scale [199].”

What the sources say

• Not checked yetcites [199] Chauton MS, Kjell IR, Niels HN, Ragnar T, Hans TK. A techno-economic analysis of industrial production of marine microalgae as a source of EPA and DHA-rich raw material for aquafeed: research challenges and possibilities. Aquaculture. 2015;436:95–103. source

In the paper

“Among all the microcystins produced by M. aeruginosa, microcystin LR is the most toxic and causes the death of animals and humans upon oral contact.”

In the paper

“EPA, DHA are produced by serval microalgae species sustainable and promising source and the only alternative to fish oils which are limited and unable to fulfill the required demands of EPA and DHA [193, 194].”

What the sources say

• Not checked yetcites [193] Sarrobert B, Dermoun D. Extraction et valorisation de molecules à haute valeur ajoutée chez la microalgae Porphyridium cruentum. Premier Colloque Scientifique Français sur la Biotechnologie des Microalgues et des Cyanobacteries Appliquée au Thermalisme, vol. 24. France: Centre d’Études Nucléaires de Cadarache; 2008. p. 109–14.
• Not checked yetcites [194] Armenta RE, Valentine MC. Single-cell oils as a source of omega-3 fatty acids: an overview of recent advances. J Am Oil Chem Soc. 2013;90:167–82. source

In the paper

“Microcystis aeruginosa produces blooms in response to unfavorable environmental conditions, with excessive synthesis and release of toxic metabolites known as microcystins.”

In the paper

“P. cruentum produces high quantities of vitamins E and C, as well as β-carotene (vitamin A) [204].”

What the sources say

• Not checked yetcites [204] Mus F, Toussaint JP, Cooksey KE, Fields MW, Gerlach R, Peyton BM, et al. Physiological and molecular analysis of carbon source supplementation and pH stress- induced lipid accumulation in the marine diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol. 2013;97:3625–42. source

In the paper

“The microalga Chaetoceros has been reported to produce 27.7 μg sterols per gram of dry weight [177].”

What the sources say

• Not checked yetcites [177] Santhosh S, Dhandapani R, Hemalatha R. Bioactive compounds from Microalgae and its different applications—a review. Adv Appl Sci Res. 2016;7(4):153–8.

In the paper

“Nostoc produce the protein Cyanovirin which have been reported for its antiviral activities against HIV an influenza virus [189].”

What the sources say

• Not checked yetcites [189] Zappe H, Snell ME, Bossard MJ. PEGylation of cyanovirin-N, an entry inhibitor of HIV. Adv Drug Deliv Rev. 2008;60(1):79–87. source

In the paper

“DHA, linoleic acid, eicosapentaenoic acid, arachidonic acid, and gamma-linolenic acid have been shown to suppress cholesterol levels, delay aging, guard membrane integrity, and prevent cardiovascular diseases [190, 191].”

What the sources say

• Not checked yetcites [190] Bannenberg G, Mallon C, Edwards H, Yeadon D, Yan K, Johnson H, Ismail A. Omega-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid content and oxidation state of fish oil supplements in New Zealand. Scientific Reports. 2017;7:1488. source
• Not checked yetcites [191] Hu FB, Bronner L, Willett WC, Stampfer MJ, Rexrode KM, Albert CM. Fish and omega-3 fatty acid intake and risk of coronary heart disease in women. JAMA. 2002;287:1815–21. source

In the paper

“β-Carotene protects membrane lipids from peroxidation, which is linked with many severe and lethal diseases, such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, Parkinson’s disease, and atherosclerosis [167–169].”

What the sources say

• Not checked yetcites [167] Lobo V, Patil A, Phatak A, Chandra N. Free radicals, antioxidants and functional foods: impact on human health. Pharmacogn Rev. 2010;4(8):118–26. source
• Not checked yetcites [168] Uttara B, Singh AV, Zamboni P, Mahajan R. Oxidative stress and neurodegenerative diseases: a review of upstream and downstream antioxidant therapeutic options. Curr Neuropharmacol. 2009;7(1):65–74. https://doi.org/10.2174/157015909787602823 . source
• Not checked yetcites [169] Pham-Huy LA, He H, Pham-Huy C. Free radicals, antioxidants in disease and health. Int J Biomed Sci. 2008;4(2):89–96. source

In the paper

“Microalgal sterols have some beneficial health effects like hypo-cholesterolemia, anticancer, anti-inflammatory and neurological diseases like Parkinson disease [171, 172].”

What the sources say

• Not checked yetcites [171] Devaraj S, Jialal I. Vega-Lopez. Plant sterol-fortified orange juice effectively lowers cholesterol levels in mildly hypercholesterolemic healthy individuals. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2004;24:25–8. source
• Not checked yetcites [172] Kim HJ, Fan X, Gabbi C, Yakimchuk K, Parini P, Warner M. Liver X receptor β (LXRβ): a link between β-sitosterol and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis—Parkinson’s dementia Proc. Natl Acad Sci USA. 2008;105(6):2094–9. source

In the paper

“M. aeruginosa is the dominant microalga of the bloom-secreting microcystins, which have been reported to be lethal for animals and humans.”

In the paper

“The microcystins are hepatocyclic peptides with a C20 amino acid chain, which determines the degree of toxicity [206].”

What the sources say

• Not checked yetcites [206] Jungblut AD, Neilan BA. Molecular identification and evolution of the cyclic peptide hepatotoxins, microcystin and nodularin, synthetase genes in three orders of cyanobacteria. Arch Microbiol. 2006;185:107–14. source

In the paper

“Lyngbya majuscula produces microcolin-A, an immunosuppressive agent [188].”

What the sources say

• Not checked yetcites [188] Arya V, Gupta VK. A review on marine immunomodulators. Int J PharmLife Sci. 2001;2(5):751–8.

In the paper

“Stress conditions are unfavorable environmental factors, such as strong light, high salinity, high temperature, deprivation of nitrogen or other nutrients, short-term exposure to UV radiation, or a combination of these factors [152].”

What the sources say

• Not checked yetcites [152] Nobre BP, Villalobos F, Barragan BE, Oliveira AC, Batista AP, Marques PA, et al. A biorefinery from Nannochloropsis sp. microalga—extraction of oils and pigments. Production of biohydrogen from the leftover biomass. Bioresour Technol. 2013;135:128–36. source

In the paper

“Okada et al. [252] reported that neoxanthin and fucoxanthin inhibited the accumulation of fats and stated that allenic and hydroxyl groups must be present to differentiate adipocytes.”

What the sources say

• Not checked yetcites [252] Okada T, Nakai M, Maeda H, Hosokawa M, Sashima T, Miyashita K. Suppressive effect of neoxanthin on the differentiation of 3T3-L1 adipose cells. J Oleo Sci. 2008;57(6):345–51. source

In the paper

“Cyanobacteria produce various metabolites by the ribosomal or non-ribosomal pathway. Most of these compounds are either peptides or alkaloids [241].”

What the sources say

• Not checked yetcites [241] Sivonen K, Leikoski N, Fewer DP, Jokela J. Cyanobactins—ribosomal cyclic peptides produced by cyanobacteria. App Microbiol Biotechnol. 2010;86(5):1213–25. source

In the paper

“Moreover, fucoxanthin has been shown to protect DNA from photooxidation [237].”

What the sources say

• Not checked yetcites [237] Heo SJ, Jeon YJ. Protective effect of fucoxanthin isolated from Sargassum siliquastrum on UV-B induced cell damage. J Photochem Photobiol B. 2009;95:101–7. source

In the paper

“Aerucyclamide is used in pharmaceutical products as an anti-plasmodial agent isolated from the blooming of M. aeruginosa [238].”

What the sources say

• Not checked yetcites [238] Pen S, Scarone L, Manta E, Stewart L, Yardley V, et al. Synthesis of a Microcystis aeruginosa predicted metabolite with antimalarial activity. Bioorg Med Chem Lett. 2012;22(15):4994–7. source

In the paper

“Phycobiliproteins (e.g., C-phycocyanin, R-phycoerythrin) are commercially used in the food and cosmetic industries as natural dyes [226].”

What the sources say

• Not checked yetcites [226] Sekar S, Chandramohan M. Phycobiliproteins as a commodity: trends in applied research, patents and commercialization. J Appl Phycol. 2008;20:113–36. source

In the paper

“ROS (reactive oxygen species) and NOS (nitrogen reactive species) attack biomolecules like DNA, proteins, and membrane lipids, leading to many severe diseases including cancer, coronary arteries disease, obesity, diabetes, ischemic stroke, and Alzheimer disease [216].”

What the sources say

• Not checked yetcites [216] Ngo DN, Kim MM, Kim SK. Chitin oligosaccharides inhibit oxidative stress in live cells. Carbohydr Polym. 2006;74:228–34. source

In the paper

“Karatungiols are active antimycotic agents produced by Amphidinium, which also have antiprotozoal activities [215].”

What the sources say

• Not checked yetcites [215] Washida K, Koyama T, Yamada K, Kitab M, Urmura D, et al. Karatungiols A and B two novel antimicrobial polyol compounds, from the symbiotic marine dinoflagellate Amphidinium sp. Tetrahedron Lett. 2006;47(15):2521–5. source

In the paper

“Fucoxanthin also has therapeutic effects for diabetes and induced the synthesis of arachidonic acid and DHA content in mouse livers [235].”

What the sources say

• Not checked yetcites [235] Tsukui T, Baba N, Hosokawa M, Sashima T, Miyashit K. Enhancement of hepatic docosahexaenoic acid and arachidonic acid contents in C57BL/6J mice by dietary fucoxanthin. Fish Sci. 2009;75:261–3. source

In the paper

“The diatom Nitzschia pungens produces domoic acid, which causes poisoning of shellfish [213].”

What the sources say

• Not checked yetcites [213] Mos Lizzy. Domoic acid: a fascinating marine toxin. Environ Toxicol Pharmacol. 2001;9:79–85. source

In the paper

“As synthetic antioxidants have been shown to have side effects, natural antioxidants are sought after [218].”

What the sources say

• Not checked yetcites [218] Pena-Ramos E, Xiong Y. Antioxidative activity of whey protein hydrolysates in a liposomal system. J Dairy Sci. 2001;84:2577–83. source

In the paper

“Gambierdiscus toxicus produces gambieric acids, which have antifungal activities [214].”

What the sources say

• Not checked yetcites [214] Donia M, Hamann MT. Marine natural products and their potential applications as anti-infective agents (review). Lancet Infect Dis. 2003;3:338–48. source

In the paper

“Antimycotic activities have been reported for karatungiols, a group of compounds synthesized by the dinoflagellate Amphidinium [215].”

What the sources say

• Not checked yetcites [215] Washida K, Koyama T, Yamada K, Kitab M, Urmura D, et al. Karatungiols A and B two novel antimicrobial polyol compounds, from the symbiotic marine dinoflagellate Amphidinium sp. Tetrahedron Lett. 2006;47(15):2521–5. source

In the paper

“Microalgae useful in mitigation of elevated CO2 level and treatment of waste water.”

In the paper

“Microalgae are tiny factories and renewable, sustainable and economical sources of biofuels, bioactive medicinal products and food ingredients.”

In the paper

“which shows potential as an anti-cancer, anti-oxidant, anti-obesity, anti-diabetic, and anti-inflammatory agent [257].”

What the sources say

• Not checked yetcites [257] Maeda H, Hosokawa M, Sashima T, Funayama K, Miyashita K. Effect of medium-chain triacylglycerols on anti-obesity effect of fucoxanthin. J Oleo Sci. 2007;56(12):615–21. source

In the paper

“Upgradation of algal fuel and bioproducts technology from pilot scale to commercial level is possible by overcoming the associated challenges and limitations.”