Table 1.

Overview of some microalgal species studied for food and food ingredients, and their main bioactive molecules. Species marked in red are approved as GRAS by the FDA.

Microalgae	Fatty Acids	Pigments	Other	Ref.
Spirulina sp.	/	/	Polysaccharides	[41]
Aphanizomenon flos-aquae	/	/	Mycosporine-like amino acids (MAA)	[42]
Lyngbya majuscula	/	/	Lyngbic acid, malyngamides, grenadadiene, debromogrenadiene, grenadamide	[43,44]
Arthrospira platensis	Monounsaturated (oleic acid) and polyunsaturated (γ-linolenic acid, DHA)	Zea, Ast, β-Car, Lut, Cantha	/	[45,46,47]
Limnospira maxima	Polyunsaturated (γ-linolenic acid)	C-PC, β-Car	α-tocopherol	[48,49,50]
Limnospira fusiformis	/	C-PC, β-Car	α-tocopherol, α-lipoic acid	[51,52]
Porphyridium purpureum	Saturated (palmitic acid), monounsaturated (palmitoleic acid), and polyunsaturated (EPA, arachidonic acid)	β-Car, Chl a, Zea, Chlide a, Cry, Phe a, Pheide a, PE, PBPs	/	[53,54,55]
Euglena gracilis	Polyunsaturated (EPA and DHA)	β-Car, Zea, Diato, Diadino, Neo	Paramylon, α-tocopherol	[56,57,58]
Isochrysis galbana	Polyunsaturated (EPA and DHA)	Fuco, Chl a	Amino acids (Arg, Met, Lys, Thr, Phe, His, Ile, Leu, Val, Trp)	[59,60,61]
Diacronema vlkianum	Saturated (myristic and palmitic acid), monounsaturated (palmitoleic acid), and polyunsaturated (stearidonic acid, EPA, and DHA)	Fuco, Lut, Zea, β-Car, Chl a, Chl c, Ast	α-tocopherol, p-sitosterol, stigmasterol	[62,63,64]
Crypthecodinium cohnii	Polyunsaturated (DHA)	/	/	[65]
Schizochytrium sp. *	Polyunsaturated (DHA)	Ast, Cantha, β-Car, Ech	/	[66,67]
Nannochloropsis gaditana	Polyunsaturated (EPA)	Ast, Cantha, Chl a	/	[68,69,70]
Nannochloropsis oculata	Polyunsaturated (EPA)	/	α-tocopherol	[71,72]
Odontella aurita	Polyunsaturated (EPA)	Chl a, Fuco	/	[73,74]
Phaeodactylum tricornutum	Polyunsaturated (EPA)	/	/	[75]
Tetraselmis suecica	Polyunsaturated (EPA)	Chl a, Chl b, α-Car, γ-Car, Lut, Lo, Viola, Neo, Ax	/	[76,77]
Auxenochlorella protothecoides	Saturated (palmitic and stearic acid), monounsaturated (oleic acid), and polyunsaturated (linoleic and linolenic acid)	Lut	/	[78,79]
Chlorella vulgaris	Saturated (palmitic and stearic acid), monounsaturated (oleic acid), and polyunsaturated (linolenic acid)	Ast, β-Car, Lut, Cantha, Lyco	/	[80,81]
Scenedesmus sp. “almeriensis”	Saturated (stearic, palmitic, and lauric acid), monounsaturated (oleic acid), polyunsaturated (linoleic and α-linoleic acid)	Lut, Ast, β-Car, Chl a, b, c	Haemagglutinin, MAA, amino acids (Ile, Leu, Met, Lys, Ala, Val, Arg, Cys and others), vitamin B, C, E	[42,82]
Haematococcus lacustris	/	Ast	/	[83]
Chlamydomonas reinhardtii	Saturated (palmitic acid), monounsaturated (oleic acid), polyunsaturated (α-linoleic and linoleic acid)	Chl a, b, Lut, β-Car,	/	[84,85,86]
Dunaliella salina	/	β-Car, α-Car, Zea, Lut	Sterols (7-dehydroporiferasterol, ergosterol)	[87,88]

MMA—mycosporine-like amino acids; α-Car—α-carotene; β-Car—β-carotene; γ-Car—γ-carotene; Zea—zeaxanthin; Ast—astaxanthin; Lut—lutein; Cantha –canthaxanthin; Fuco—fucoxanthin; Chl a—chlorophyll a; Chl b—chlorophyll b; Chl c—chlorophyll c; Chlide a—chlorophyllide a; Cry—cryptoxanthin; Phe a—pheophytin a; Pheide a—pheophorbide a; PE—phycoerythrin; C-PC—C-phycocyanin; PBPs—phycobiliproteins; Lyco—lycopene; Lo—loroxanthin; Neo—neoxanthin; Ax—antheraxanthin; Viola—violaxanthin; Ech—echinenone; Diato—diatoxanthin; Diadino—diadinoxanthin; DHA—docosahexaenoic acid; EPA—eicosapentaenoic acid; /—no data to our knowledge. * The classification of Shizochytrium sp. as microalga is controversial [40].