Environmental Sustainability & Health Institute (ESHI), Technological University Dublin, Grangegorman, D07 H6K8 Dublin 7, Ireland.
School of Food Science and Environmental Health, College of Sciences and Health, Technological University Dublin, Grangegorman, D07 H6K8 Dublin 7, Ireland.
Mar Drugs. 2022 Jul 29;20(8):493. doi: 10.3390/md20080493.
Sleep deficiency is now considered an emerging global epidemic associated with many serious health problems, and a major cause of financial and social burdens. Sleep and mental health are closely connected, further exacerbating the negative impact of sleep deficiency on overall health and well-being. A major drawback of conventional treatments is the wide range of undesirable side-effects typically associated with benzodiazepines and antidepressants, which can be more debilitating than the initial disorder. It is therefore valuable to explore the efficiency of other remedies for complementarity and synergism with existing conventional treatments, leading to possible reduction in undesirable side-effects. This review explores the relevance of microalgae bioactives as a sustainable source of valuable phytochemicals that can contribute positively to mood and sleep disorders. Microalgae species producing these compounds are also catalogued, thus creating a useful reference of the state of the art for further exploration of this proposed approach. While we highlight possibilities awaiting investigation, we also identify the associated issues, including minimum dose for therapeutic effect, bioavailability, possible interactions with conventional treatments and the ability to cross the blood brain barrier. We conclude that physical and biological functionalization of microalgae bioactives can have potential in overcoming some of these challenges.
睡眠不足现在被认为是一种新兴的全球性流行疾病，与许多严重的健康问题有关，也是造成经济和社会负担的主要原因。睡眠与心理健康密切相关，进一步加剧了睡眠不足对整体健康和幸福感的负面影响。传统治疗方法的一个主要缺点是通常与苯二氮䓬类药物和抗抑郁药相关的各种不良副作用，这些副作用可能比最初的疾病更具危害性。因此，探索其他治疗方法的有效性，以补充和协同现有的常规治疗方法，从而有可能减少不良副作用，是非常有价值的。本综述探讨了微藻生物活性作为有价值的植物化学物质的可持续来源的相关性，这些物质可以对情绪和睡眠障碍产生积极影响。产生这些化合物的微藻物种也被列入目录，从而为进一步探索这一方法提供了一个有用的最新技术参考。虽然我们强调了有待研究的可能性，但我们也确定了相关问题，包括治疗效果的最小剂量、生物利用度、与常规治疗的可能相互作用以及穿越血脑屏障的能力。我们的结论是，微藻生物活性的物理和生物功能化在克服其中一些挑战方面具有潜力。
