REVIEW ARTICLE


Freshwater Microalgae as Promising Food Sources: Nutritional and Functional Properties



Asep A. Prihanto1, 2, *, Yoga D. Jatmiko3, Rahmi Nurdiani1, 2, Anis Miftachurrochmah2, Mamoru Wakayama4
1 Department Fishery Product Technology, Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Science, Brawijaya University, Jl. Veteran Malang, 65145, East Java, Indonesia
2 Bio-Seafood Research Unit, Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Science, Brawijaya University, Jl. Veteran Malang, 65145, East Java, Indonesia
3 Department Biology, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Science, Brawijaya University, Jl. Veteran Malang, 65145, East Java, Indonesia
4 Department of Biotechnology, College of Life Sciences, Ritsumeikan University, Kusatsu, Shiga, 525-8577, Japan


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Creative Commons License
© 2022 Prihanto et al.

open-access license: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0), a copy of which is available at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode. This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

* Address correspondence to this author at the Department Fishery Product Technology, Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Science, Brawijaya University. Jl. Veteran Malang, East Java, Indonesia; Tel: +62 341 553512; E-mail: asep_awa@ub.ac.id


Abstract

A number of researchers have predicted that the current food crisis is predicted to worsen in 2050. The prediction of this crisis is aligned with climate change causing increases in some basic foodstuff prices. Therefore, everyone should prepare to consume alternative foods at an early stage. Alternative foods have been widely developed, one of which involves microalgae. However, the type of microalgae produced by some countries on a large scale consists of only oceanic/seawater microalgae. This will have an impact on and hinder development in countries that do not have these resources. Therefore, it is necessary to explore the use of microalgae derived from freshwater. Unfortunately, freshwater microalgae are still rarely investigated for use as alternative foods. However, there is considerable potential to utilize freshwater microalgae, and these algae are very abundant and diverse. In terms of nutritional properties, compared to oceanic / seawater microalgae, freshwater microalgae contain nearly the same protein and amino acids, lipids and fatty acids, carbohydrates, and vitamins. There are even more species whose composition is similar to those currently consumed foods, such as beef, chicken, beans, eggs, and corn. In addition to dietary properties, freshwater microalgae also have functional properties, due to the presence of pigments, sterols, fatty acids, and polyphenols. Given the potential of freshwater microalgae, these aquatic resources need to be developed for potential use as future food resources.

Keywords: Bioactive, Food, Freshwater, Functional properties, Microalgae, Nutrition, Underexplored.