Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Istituto Nazionale di Biologia, Ecologia e Biotecnologie marine, Napoli, Italy.
Laboratory of Vascular Biology and Angiogenesis, IRCCS MultiMedica, Milan, Italy.
Crit Rev Biotechnol. 2021 Mar;41(2):155-171. doi: 10.1080/07388551.2021.1874284. Epub 2021 Feb 2.
Phenolic compounds (PCs) are a family of secondary metabolites with recognized biological activities making them attractive for the biomedical "red" biotechnology. The development of the eco-sustainable production of natural bioactive metabolites requires using easy cultivable organisms, such as microalgae, which represents one of the most promising sources for biotechnological applications. Microalgae are photosynthetic organisms inhabiting aquatic systems, displaying high levels of biological and functional diversities, and are well-known producers of fatty acids and carotenoids. They are also rich in other families of bioactive molecules e.g. phenolic compounds. Microalgal PCs however are less investigated than other molecular components. This study aims to provide a state-of-art picture of the actual knowledge on microalgal phenolic compounds, reviewing information on the PC content variety and chemodiversity in microalgae, their environmental modulation, and we aim to report discuss data on PC biosynthetic pathways. We report the challenges of promoting microalgae as a relevant source of natural PCs, further enhancing the interests of microalgal "biofactories" for biotechnological applications (i.e. nutraceutical, pharmacological, or cosmeceutical products).
酚类化合物（PCs）是一类具有公认生物活性的次生代谢产物，使其成为生物医学“红色”生物技术的吸引力来源。生态可持续生产天然生物活性代谢物的发展需要使用易于培养的生物体，如微藻，这是生物技术应用最有前途的来源之一。微藻是栖息在水生系统中的光合生物，具有高度的生物和功能多样性，并且是脂肪酸和类胡萝卜素的知名生产者。它们还富含其他生物活性分子家族，例如酚类化合物。然而，与其他分子成分相比，微藻的 PCs 研究较少。本研究旨在提供微藻酚类化合物现有知识的最新概述，综述了微藻中 PC 含量和化学多样性、环境调节以及 PC 生物合成途径的数据，并讨论了相关信息。我们报告了促进微藻作为天然 PCs 相关来源的挑战，进一步增强了微藻“生物工厂”在生物技术应用（例如营养保健品、药理学或化妆品产品）中的兴趣。
