Microalgae as Nutraceutical for Achieving Sustainable Food Solution in Future

Of late, a spurt in the general awareness about the biological aspects of nutrition has been witnessed. The changing trend demands for high nutritional value products that can easily and rapidly be produced at large scales in a cost-effective manner. Microalgae constitutes a distinct group of unicellular photosynthetic organisms and a broad variety of eukaryotic algae containing a plethora of beneficial compounds such as carbohydrate, proteins, fatty acids, vitamins, carotenoids, phycobiliproteins, astaxanthin, and lutein. These compounds find application in the production of high-quality nutraceuticals that provide health benefits such as controlling blood pressure, boosting immune system, reducing coronary heart diseases, serving as anticancer agents, and acting as antioxidants. Besides, the benefits of using microalgae are its high productivity on arable and nonarable land, thus posing no threat to the agricultural crop production. Although the nutritional value and its commercialization is still in nascent stage, intense efforts are underway all over the world to explore untapped potential of microalgae that could lead to the solution of several problems through green technologies and open gateway to a multibillion dollar industry. This chapter gives an overview of microalgae and its diversity, nutritional value, and current challenges on its use as nutraceutical product.