Microalgae as a Sustainable Source of Cosmeceuticalsстатья
Статья опубликована в журнале из списка RSCI Web of Science
Статья опубликована в журнале из перечня ВАК
Статья опубликована в журнале из списка Web of Science и/или Scopus
Дата последнего поиска статьи во внешних источниках: 23 сентября 2021 г.
Аннотация:A prominent feature of stress-tolerant microalgae is their versatile metabolism, allowing them to synthesize a broad spectrum of molecules. In microalgae, they increase stress resilience of these organisms.In human body, they exhibit anti-aging, anti-inflammatory, and sunscreen activities. This is not surprising, given that many of the stress-induced deleterious processes in human body and in photosyntheticcell are mediated by the same mechanisms: free-radical attacks and lipid peroxidation. It is also worthnoting, that the photosynthetic machinery of microalgae is always at risk of oxidative damage sincehigh redox potentials and reactive molecules are constantly generated during its functioning. These risksare kept at bay by efficient reactive oxygen species elimination systems including, inter alia, potent lowmolecular antioxidants. Therefore, photosynthetic organisms are a rich source of bioactive substanceswith a great potential for curbing the negative effects of stresses, acting on human skin cells on a day-today basis. In many cases these compounds appear to be less toxic, less allergenic, and, in general, more“biocompatible” than most of their synthetic counterparts. The same algal metabolites are recognizedas promising ingredients for innovative cosmetics and cosmeceutical formulations. Ever increasingefforts are being put into the search for new natural biologically active substances from microalgae.This trend is also fueled by the growing demand for natural raw materials for foods, nutraceuticals,pharmaceuticals, and cosmetology, associated with the global transition to a “greener” lifestyle. Although a dramatic diversity of cosmeceuticals was discovered in macrophyte algae, single-celled algaeare on the same level or even surpass them in this regard. At the same time, a large-scale biotechnological production of microalgal biomass, enriched with the cosmeceutical compounds, is more technicallyfeasible and economically viable than that of macrophyte biomass. The autotrophic cultivation of microalgae is generally simpler and often cheaper than that of heterotrophic microorganisms. Cultivationin bioreactors makes it possible to obtain more standardized raw biomass, quality of which is less dependent on seasonal factors. Microalgae biotechnology opens many possibilities to the “green” cosmeceutical production. However, a significant part of microalgae chemo- and biodiversity remains so far untapped. Consequently, bioprospecting and biochemical characterization of new algal species and strains,especially those isolated from habitats with harsh environmental conditions, is a major avenue for further research and development. Equally important is the development of approaches to cost-effectivemicroalgae cultivation, as well as induction, extraction, and purification of cosmeceutical metabolites.World scientific community is rapidly accumulating extensive information on the chemistry and diverseeffects of microalgae substances and metabolites; many substances of microalgal origin are extensivelyused in the cosmetic industry. However, the list of extracts and individual chemicals, isolated from them and thoroughly tested for safety and effectiveness, is not yet very large. Although excellent reviews of individual microalgal cosmeceutical groups exist, here we covered all the most important classes of suchcompounds of cosmeceutical relevance, linking the patterns of their composition and accumulationwith the relevant aspects of microalgae biology