Metabolites from Microalgal Cultures as Potential Sources for the Pharmaceutical Industry

Microalgae are industrially valuable due to their metabolic potential and ability to biosynthesize different bioactive components such as carbohydrates, proteins, phenols, fatty acids, pigments, sterols, and terpenes, which have potential use in the pharmaceutical, cosmetic, agronomic, food, and other industries. This explains the growing interest in the search for new compounds from microalgae obtained both through traditional cultures and, more recently, from particular nutrient sources such as industrial effluents. In the latter, microalgae can be used not only as bioremediation agents but also as a source of nutrients and bioactive components. This chapter reviews the most recent aspects related to obtaining microalgal biomass with high performance and quality for its application in health-related industries. In this sense, this chapter analyzes the operating conditions of the culture and the abiotic factors that most influence the metabolite concentration in microalgal biomass. Likewise, the authors describe the methodologies for metabolite extraction, fractionation, and analysis and present examples that have demonstrated their potential pharmaceutical application, such as strains of Euglena and Scenedesmus.