AMB Volume 36, Issue 3, 2020 Pages 79-89
Microalgae as Producers of Biologically Active Compounds with Antibacterial, Antiviral, Antifungal, Antialgal, Antiprotozoal, Antiparasitic and Anticancer Activity
Bratchkova, A., Kroumov, A. D.
Algae have increasingly gained public importance as a sustainable resource in biomedicine (Lee and Mooney, 2012). In this respect, scientometric studies (Garfield, 2006; Konur, 2020) have a lot to offer to enable the key stakeholders to inform themselves about algal science, technology, and medicine, and the underlying research areas in the fields of algal research, especially in biomedicine (Konur, 2016). The ecological and biological diversity of algae allow the synthesis of a variety of biologically active substances that can offer hope for the treatment of many diseases. This review aims to emphasize microalgae action against infectious and parasitic diseases, including cancer diseases. The reason to discuss these illnesses together is the way they affect the macroorganism as a host. Therefore, it is crucially important to highlight and to consider the challenging features and activities of microalgae, such as antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal, antialgal, antiprotozoal, antiparasitic and anticancer activities. Studies to date have revealed the enormous ecological role of microalgae and the potential for deriving a variety of metabolites from them to be used for treatment of people, animals and other living beings.
Keywords: microalgae, biologically active compounds, source of medicines
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