Collection
Microalgal Bioactive Compounds for Formulation of Functional Food
As a prominent source of nutrition, microalgae have been widely explored in the commercial production of dietary supplementary, along with their extensive applications as the renewable bioproducts and bioenergy. This group of photosynthetic organism has great biodiversity and good flexibility in their metabolism. More importantly, their growth in aquatic habitats without high reliance on fresh water supply makes them more versatile than the conventional crops and a promising candidate of future food. Aside from the abundance of lipids and proteins in biomass, microalgae are the remarkable sources of secondary metabolites such as phytochemicals and pigments. These natural sources of biocompounds are attractive for the formulation of functional food, or known as nutraceuticals. The concept of functional food has gained popularity and acceptance among consumers worldwide. Functional foods are ingredients that not only offer nutritional value, but also are associated with health-related benefits such as promotion of heart health, stimulation of growth, and protection against diseases. To meet the demand and expectation of health-conscious consumers, more research efforts shall be devoted to the mass production of microalgal food ingredients and formulation of functional food commodities based on microalgae. Hence, this topical collection aims to compile the research contributions related to the applications of microalgae in the formulation of functional food and other developments that lead to the wider adoption of microalgae in functional food preparation. This topical collection also focuses on the challenges and novel technology used in the processing of microalgae sources into functional foods. Other scopes of works covered by this topical collection include microalgae cultivation for food production, functionality of ingredients derived from microalgal sources, health effects of functional food ingredients derived from microalgae, strategies of microalgae production and innovative approaches in preparing microalgae as functional food.
Keywords: Microalgae, Functional food, Food system, Food ingredients, Health, Processing, Formulation, Extraction
Editors
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Ooi Chien Wei
Dr. Ooi Chien Wei, Associate Professor in the fields of bioprocess design and biocatalysis, Monash University Malaysia, Malaysia.
His research involves the applications of bio-derived ionic liquids and stimuli-responsive polymers in the designs of novel bioprocesses, bioseparation systems and biosensing materials. Aside from the field of bioprocess engineering, his research focuses on extraction technologies applied in waste valorization and the extraction of phytonutrients from microalgal source and agrowastes.
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Pau-Loke Show
Dr. Pau-Loke SHOW, Khalifa University, United Arab Emirates.
He is also the director of Sustainable Food Processing Research Centre and Co-director of Future Food Malaysia, Beacon of Excellence, at the University of Nottingham Malaysia. He is a Full Professor at the Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Nottingham Malaysia. Since he started his career in 2012, he has received numerous prestigious academic awards.
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Thi Dong Phuong Nguyen
Dr. Thi Dong Phuong Nguyen, University of Technology and Education - The University of Da Nang, Vietnam.
She graduated from the University of Science and Technology Danang with an Engineering degree. Subsequently, she obtained a PhD in Bioprocess Engineering from University of Nantes (France), where she applied the natural flocculation and membrane filtration techniques in microalgae harvesting. She was a member of a funded research project titled ‘Microalgal biomass refining and valorisation’ during her PhD study.
