As it is already well known, in recent decades marine organisms, especially microalgae, have been sought for their potential applications resulting from its richness in bioactive compounds.Microalgae comprise a vast group of various taxonomic divisions, and include blue-green algae, such as Spirulina which, although being bacteria, they also are photosynthetic organisms,with similar behavior as the remaining microalgae (which are all eukaryotic, or more evolved and differentiated beings).

Who does not know the tablets of Spirulina and Chlorella for sale in malls and dietetics shops? There have a variety of essential nutrients, from minerals to vitamins. And who has any doubt about the importance of beta-carotene or fatty acids, in particular of the type omega-3 and omega-6? All these nutrients can be extracted from marine microalgae. The essential fatty acids, in particular, enrich already some of the milk and eggs in our markets because the animals that produce these food are fed with diets to which marine microalgae were added.

But algae also produce other phytochemicals of interest. The bioactivity shown by certain types of polysaccharides, for example, is promising and may have applications ranging from nutraceutical products (such as fibers) to therapeutic ones (such as hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic, or treating arthritis of the joints of the bones), including applications in engineering (such as friction reducers). In a work recently published on the potential application of sulfated polysaccharides produced by various species of marine microalgae (and often excreted into the culture medium) was shown in several areas.

The review article on the topic Bioactivity and applications of sulphated polysaccharides from marine microalgae, has been published in a high impact journal, Marine Drugs, by researchers of CBQF – ESB / UCP Filomena Raposo, Rui Morais and Alcina Bernardo and managed a distinguished 1st place in the top most cited articles of Marine Drugs since its publication (2013-2014, Web of Science). The full article is available and can be downloaded:

Raposo, Maria Filomena de Jesus, Rui Manuel Santos Costa de Morais, and Alcina Maria Miranda Bernardo de Morais. "Bioactivity and applications of sulphated polysaccharides from marine microalgae." Marine Drugs 11.1 (2013): 233-252.