CBQF-Centro de Biotecnologia e Química Fina, Escola Superior de Biotecnologia, Centro Regional do Porto da Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Rua Dr. António Bernardino de Almeida, 4200-072 Porto, Portugal.
Mar Drugs. 2013 Jan 23;11(1):233-52. doi: 10.3390/md11010233.
Marine microalgae have been used for a long time as food for humans, such as Arthrospira (formerly, Spirulina), and for animals in aquaculture. The biomass of these microalgae and the compounds they produce have been shown to possess several biological applications with numerous health benefits. The present review puts up-to-date the research on the biological activities and applications of polysaccharides, active biocompounds synthesized by marine unicellular algae, which are, most of the times, released into the surrounding medium (exo- or extracellular polysaccharides, EPS). It goes through the most studied activities of sulphated polysaccharides (sPS) or their derivatives, but also highlights lesser known applications as hypolipidaemic or hypoglycaemic, or as biolubricant agents and drag-reducers. Therefore, the great potentials of sPS from marine microalgae to be used as nutraceuticals, therapeutic agents, cosmetics, or in other areas, such as engineering, are approached in this review.
海洋微藻长期以来一直被用作人类的食物，如节旋藻（以前称为螺旋藻）和水产养殖动物的饲料。这些微藻的生物量及其产生的化合物已被证明具有多种生物应用，对健康有许多益处。本综述更新了海洋单细胞藻类合成的具有生物活性的生物化合物（多糖）的研究进展，这些化合物大多数情况下会被释放到周围介质中（胞外或胞外多糖，EPS）。综述内容涵盖了研究最多的硫酸多糖（sPS）或其衍生物的活性，还强调了一些不太为人知的应用，如降血脂、降血糖，或作为生物润滑剂和减阻剂。因此，本文探讨了海洋微藻 sPS 作为营养保健品、治疗剂、化妆品或其他领域（如工程）的应用潜力。
