Prospect of Marine Algae for Production of Industrially Important Chemicals

Abstract

Marine algae are simple, non-flowering plants with diverse group, consisting of unicellular (3–10 μm) to multicellular forms (kelps up to 70 metres). In the marine environment, they play an important role as a source of food and forming habitats. The origin of alga date back to several million years and becoming the oldest member in the kingdom of plant. As a largest primary producer in the marine environment, they support life in the marine ecosystem through the production of oxygen, by building food webs, and by providing habitats for different organisms. More than 90 % of global photosynthesis is contributed by algae and in the marine ecosystem algae are one of the leading primary producers. They consist of diverse group of large macro and micro algae. Marine microalgae include blue green algae and phytoplanktons. Marine macroalgae (seaweeds) are taxonomically diverse group of plants from which the terrestrial plants diverged over five hundreds millions years ago. As a plant, seaweeds have chlorophyll but do not have real stems, roots, leaves, and vascular tissue. They form an important food source for fishes, invertebrates and also providing breeding ground for several marine organisms. Microalgae are distributed throughout the ocean. Macroalgae mainly grow in the littoral zone, where they are constantly exposed to diverse fluctuating environmental conditions like oxidative stress, temperature and salinity which make them have great adaptations. So, they synthesize numerous valuable antioxidants including carotenoids, tocopherol, ascorbic acid, chlorophyll derivatives, phlorotannins, polyphenols and mycosporine-like amino acids. Marine algae are also a significant source of minerals, vitamins, proteins, fibres and poly unsaturated fatty acids. The beneficial effects upon the consumption of marine algae have also been demonstrated in different investigations.