Impacto do consumo de microalgas à saúde humana

Abstract

With the growing awareness of consumers about the relationship between food and health, there has been an increase in the demand for alternative foods with guarantees of nutritional and functional quality. Given this, microalgae have gained greater visibility due to the high quantity and quality of proteins, containing essential amino acids, as well as vitamins, minerals and fatty acids. Aditionally, microalgae cells have several other compounds that induce physiological effects such as phenolic compounds (caffeic, chlorogenic, salicylic, transcinnamic acid), tocopherols and pigments (carotenoids, phycocyanin and chlorophyll), to which their potentially functional properties are attributed. Thanks to their bioactive compounds, microalgae have functional and therapeutic properties, therefore, they confer immunological, antiviral, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory effects that can help in combating arterial hypertension, diabetes, inflammation, cardiovascular diseases, hyperlipidemia, obesity and malnutrition. This work is, therefore, a review, which gathers information on the effects of microalgae on health, considering only studies performed using clinical tests, in order to compile information regarding the benefits of its nutritional composition and the possibility of applying these in the treatment and prevention of diseases. It was noticed that due to the high nutritional value and its wide variety of bioactive compounds, microalgae can contribute to human health by combating various diseases such as depression, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, hypertension, hyperdyslipidemia, obesity, malnutrition, allergies, obstructive pulmonary diseases, anemia and oxidative stress. However, it is worth mentioning that more studies using clinical trials are still needed to carefully evaluate the safety and efficacy of microalgae supplementation, and to establish the recommendations of optimal doses to be used in the prevention and treatment of different diseases.