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Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) Jul 2020Microalgae productive chains are gaining importance as sustainable alternatives to obtain natural pigments. This work presents a review on the most promising pigments...
Microalgae productive chains are gaining importance as sustainable alternatives to obtain natural pigments. This work presents a review on the most promising pigments and microalgal sources by gathering trends from a 10-year bibliometric survey, a patents search, and an industrial and market analysis built from available market reports, projects and companies' webpages. The performed analysis pointed out chlorophylls, phycocyanin, astaxanthin, and β-carotene as the most relevant pigments, and , , , and , respectively, as the most studied sources. is referred in the highest number of patents, corroborating a high technological interest in this microalga. The biorefinery concept, investment in projects and companies related to microalgae cultivation and/or pigment extraction is increasingly growing, particularly, for phycocyanin from . These pieces of evidence are a step forward to consolidate the microalgal pigments market, which is expected to grow in the coming years, increasing the prospects of replacing synthetic pigments by natural counterparts.
Topics: Drug Industry; Microalgae; Phycocyanin; Pigments, Biological
PubMed: 32731380
DOI: 10.3390/molecules25153406