ABSTRACT
Microalgae are microscopic organisms with a worldwide distribution in both freshwater and marine environments (Chacón-Lee and González-Mariño 2010). They are photosynthetic in nature and effectively utilize the solar energy to produce complex organic metabolites. Among all microalgal classes, marine microalgae have adapted to adverse conditions throughout their evolution due to the stress conditions in their habitat such as temperature variations, salinity, osmotic pressure, ultraviolet rays, and pH differences, and therefore marine microalgae have the potency to produce novel metabolites (Tandeau-de-Marsac and Houmard, 1993). Microalgae have been treated as a source of sh feed for years, until scientists understood the great potential in microalgae in many applications such as biofuel, bio-ethanol, nutrition supplement, and pharmaceutical agents. Due to recent identication of this great potential, much study has not been conducted till date exploring bioactive compounds from microalgae. However, the limited studies on this aspect have already established that the microalgal metabolites are highly bioactive. Being the primary producers of the sea, it is generally believed that many of the active compounds isolated from marine resources have actually been synthesized in microalgae and then passed into other members in food chain.
