A product taken orally that contains one or more ingredients (such as vitamins or amino acids) that are intended to supplement one's diet and are not considered food.
Published in Chapter:
Application of Algae in Food Science, Antioxidants, Animal Feed, and Aquaculture
Monika Prakash Rai (Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University, Noida, India) and Neelima Lal (Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University, Noida, India)
Copyright: © 2022
|Pages: 21
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-6684-2438-4.ch016
Abstract
The commercial viability of various algal species increases with the growing demand of natural food supplements. Utilisation of algal biomass as health supplements is paving new ways in the fields of nutraceutical and pharmaceutical industries. They also play a crucial nutritional role in livestock feed and aquaculture. Various algal species are rich sources of bioactive compounds like fatty acids, essential minerals, bioactive peptides, carotenoids, vitamins, etc. and thus has the potential to compete with their synthetic counterparts in the market. The increase in demand for high value health supplements and market trends has motivated researchers and industries in developing algal novel products containing functional ingredients. Some important algae that are used as human food, antioxidants, and nutritional supplements are reviewed in this chapter. This chapter also summarizes the role of algae in animal feed industry and aquaculture. Major challenges in the application of algae as nutraceuticals and food are also discussed along with possible future directions.