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Microalgae in Human Health and Medicine

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Microalgae Biotechnology for Food, Health and High Value Products

Abstract

Microalgae contain various components those that have shown a great potential to be used for human health and medicine. The therapeutic properties of microalgae exhibit vast range of applications like cardiovascular health, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, anticoagulant, antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal, and others in human medicinal products. Microalgal components are used to enhance immune system and to reduce blood cholesterol and are effective against hypercholesterolemia. Microalgae contain effective components that can remove harmful elements from the human body and have properties of antitumor, stomach ulcer, and wound healing. The extract of microalgae enhances blood hemoglobin concentration and decrease blood sugar level. Some microalgal species are extensively used to form analgesic, broncholytic, and antihypertensive medicines. Large quantities of bioactive components obtained from microalgae have strong beneficial properties which reduce the production of inflammatory compounds, effective against muscle degradation. Microalgal bioactive components play a potential role in disease-inhibiting and health-promoting medicines like capsules, tablets, powders, and gels. This article also reviews the health risks regarding microalgae intake.

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Acknowledgments

This research was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21978120; 21506084), the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions, and the Training Project of the Young Core Instructor of Jiangsu University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Food and Biological Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, China

    Sajid Basheer, Shuhao Huo, Jingya Qian, Ling Xu, Fengjie Cui & Bin Zou

  2. Institute of Life Sciences, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, China

    Feifei Zhu

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  1. Sajid Basheer
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  2. Shuhao Huo
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  3. Feifei Zhu
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  4. Jingya Qian
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  5. Ling Xu
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  6. Fengjie Cui
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  7. Bin Zou
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Correspondence to Shuhao Huo .

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  1. School of Chemical Engineering, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan, China

    Md. Asraful Alam

  2. School of Chemical Engineering, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan, China

    Jing-Liang Xu

  3. Biomass Energy and R&D, Guangzhou Institute of Energy Conversation-Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China

    Zhongming Wang

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Basheer, S. et al. (2020). Microalgae in Human Health and Medicine. In: Alam, M., Xu, JL., Wang, Z. (eds) Microalgae Biotechnology for Food, Health and High Value Products. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-0169-2_5

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