Chapter 32 - Microalgae: A new and promising source of food

Abstract

The need to develop new sources of foods is growing, especially due to malnutrition in underdeveloped and developing countries. Also, the growth of the world’s population has led to the exploration of alternative food sources that can maintain food security. The high protein content of several macro and microalgal species would make them a great component of different foods, increasing their nutritional value. Parallel studies have shown that microalgae consumption may bring additional health benefits due to their variety of active biological compounds that are not found in other organisms. Considering this evidence and the potential commodity-scale production of algae, we aimed to conduct a survey of the biochemical, biological, and functional properties of different microalgae and to explore their techno-functional characteristics that can improve food processing, including their protein solubility, foaming, emulsifying, and gelling properties.