A bibliographic database of scientific papers published by authors affiliated to research institutions worldwide, especially focused in Europe and in the European Atlantic Area, and containing the keywords “microalga(e)” or “phytoplankton” was built. A corpus of 79,020 publications was obtained and analyzed using the Orbit Intellixir software to characterize the research trends related to microalgae markets, markets opportunities and technologies that could have important impacts on markets evolution. Six major markets opportunities, the production of biofuels, bioplastics, biofertilizers, nutraceuticals, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, and two fast-evolving technological domains driving markets evolution, microalgae harvesting and extraction technologies and production of genetically modified (GM-)microalgae, were highlighted. We here present an advanced analysis of these research domains to give an updated overview of scientific concepts driving microalgae markets.

Fucoxanthin is a brown-colored pigment from algae, with great potential as a bioactive molecule due to its numerous properties. This review aims to present current knowledge on this high added-value pigment. An accurate analysis of the biological function of fucoxanthin explains its wide photon absorption capacities in golden-brown algae. The specific chemical structure of this pigment also leads to many functional activities in human health. They are outlined in this work and are supported by the latest studies in the literature. The scientific and industrial interest in fucoxanthin is correlated with great improvements in the development of algae cultures and downstream processes. The best fucoxanthin producing algae and their associated culture parameters are described. The light intensity is a major influencing factor, as it has to enable both a high biomass growth and a high fucoxanthin content. This review also insists on the most eco-friendly and innovative extraction methods and their perspective within the next years. The use of bio-based solvents, aqueous two-phase systems and the centrifugal partition chromatography are the most promising processes. The analysis of the global market and multiple applications of fucoxanthin revealed that Asian companies are major actors in the market with macroalgae. In addition, fucoxanthin from microalgae are currently produced in Israel and France, and are mostly authorized in the USA.

Phytoplankton, with an estimated 30 000 to 1 000 000 species clustered in 12 phyla, presents a high taxonomic and ecophysiological diversity, reflected by the complex distribution of pigments among the different algal classes. High performance liquid chromatography is the gold standard method for qualitative and quantitative analysis of phytoplankton pigments in seawater and culture samples, but only a few pigments can be used as robust chemotaxonomic markers. A major challenge is thus to identify new ones, characteristic of a strain, species, class or taxon that cannot be currently identified on the basis of its pigment signature. Using an optimized extraction process coupled to a HPLC de-replication strategy, we examined the pigment composition of 37 microalgae strains, representative of the broad taxonomic diversity of marine and freshwater species (excluding cyanobacteria). For each species, the major pigments already described were unambiguously identified. We also observed the presence of several minor unidentified pigments in each chromatogram. The global analysis of pigment compositions revealed a total of 124 pigments, including 98 pigments or derivatives unidentified using the standards. Absorption spectra indicated that 35 corresponded to chlorophyll/porphyrin derivatives, 57 to carotenoids and six to derivatives having both spectral signatures. Sixty-one of these unidentified or new carotenoids and porphyrin derivatives were characteristic of particular strains or species, indicating their possible use as highly specific chemotaxonomic markers capable of identifying one strain out of the 37 selected. We developed a graphical analysis using Gephi software to give a clear representation of pigment communities among the various phytoplankton strains, and to reveal strain-characteristic and shared pigments. This made it possible to reconstruct the taxonomic evolution of microalgae classes, on the basis of the conservation, loss, and/or appearance of pigments.

Twelve microalgae species isolated in tropical lagoons of New Caledonia were screened as a new source of antioxidants. Microalgae were cultivated at two light intensities to investigate their influence on antioxidant capacity. To assess antioxidant property of microalgae extracts, four assays with different modes of action were used: 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2’-azino-bis (3-éthylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonique) (ABTS), oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC), and thiobabituric acid reactive substances (TBARS). This screening was coupled to pigment analysis to link antioxidant activity and carotenoid content. The results showed that none of the microalgae studied can scavenge DPPH and ABTS radicals, but Chaetoceros sp., Nephroselmis sp., and Nitzschia A sp. have the capacity to scavenge peroxyl radical (ORAC) and Tetraselmis sp., Nitzschia A sp., and Nephroselmis sp. can inhibit lipid peroxidation (TBARS). Carotenoid composition is typical of the studied microalgae and highlight the siphonaxanthin, detected in Nephroselmis sp., as a pigment of interest. It was found that xanthophylls were the major contributors to the peroxyl radical scavenging capacity measured with ORAC assay, but there was no link between carotenoids and inhibition of lipid peroxidation measured with TBARS assay. In addition, the results showed that light intensity has a strong influence on antioxidant capacity of microalgae: Overall, antioxidant activities measured with ORAC assay are better in high light intensity whereas antioxidant activities measured with TBARS assay are better in low light intensity. It suggests that different antioxidant compounds production is related to light intensity.