Cyanobacteria and microalgae as promising sources of novel bioactive compounds: A review

Abstract

Cyanobacteria and microalgae have emerged as promising and sustainable source of various bioactive compounds. They show remarkable diversity in their biochemical composition and have gained attention in recent years because of their health promoting potential. These microorganisms are rich sources of diverse bioactive compounds in the form of secondary metabolites like alkaloids, phenolic acids, terpenoids and tannins as well as vitamins, proteins and other chemicals. These secondary metabolites often exhibiting low toxicity and are valuable assets for drug development. They have applications in pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and dietary supplements. This review highlights recent advancement in the exploration of derived bioactive compounds from cyanobacteria and microalgae with contemporary research and pivotal studies, to emphasize the exceptional potential of novel bioactive compounds. It also provides insights in to biosynthetic pathways, current limitations and future prospectives of these compounds as well as their applications in different sectors such as pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, dietary supplements, cancer research and in waste water remediation.