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. 2022 Mar 19;29(5):3083–3096. doi: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2022.03.020

Table 3.

Microalgal and cyanobacterial metabolites with potential interest for agriculture (Gonçalves 2021).

Role in
Agriculture 		Biological
Activity 		Microalgal/Cyanobacterial Sources Examples Metabolites
Crops’ protection against pathogens or other biotic and abiotic stress conditions Antibacterial;
antioxidant; antifungal		 Botryococcus braunii; Chaetoceros calcitrans; Chlorella vulgaris; Isochrysis galbana; Isochrysis sp.;Neochloris oleoabundans; Odontella
sinensis; Phaeodactylum tricornutum; Saccharina japonica; Skeletonema costatum; Tetraselmis suecica 		Polyphenols; phenolic
acids; flavonoids;
phenylpropanoids		 Phenolic
compounds
Crops’ protection against bacteria, insects, and other organisms Stimulation of preliminary growth and development of plants Attraction of pollinators Antibacterial;
anticarcinogenic;
antioxidant		 Chondrococcus hornemanni; Hypnea pannosa; Oscillatoria perornata; Planktothricoids raciborskii; Plocamium cornutum; Plocamium leptophyllum; Portieria hornemann;
Pseudanabaena articulate;
Pseudanabaena sp.; Sphaerococcus coronopifolius; Synechocystis sp.;
Thermosynechococcus elongate. 		Hemiterpenes;
monoterpenes;
sesquiterpenes;
diterpenes; triterpenes;
polyterpenes		 Terpenoids
Crops’ protection against pathogens or other biotic and abiotic stress conditions Antibiotic;
anticarcinogenic;
antifungal; antioxidant;
antiviral		 Anabaena; Chlorella; Dunaliella;
Nannochloropsis; Porphyridium;
Scenedesmus; Spirulina 		Saturated and
unsaturated fatty acids		 Free fatty acids
Improvement of soil
Quality Plant growth stimulation Crops’ protection against biotic and abiotic stress conditions		 Antibacterial;
anticancer;
anticoagulant;
anti-inflammatory;
antioxidant		 Aphanothece; Arthrospira;
Chlamydomonas; Chlorella;
Cylindrotheca; Dunaliella; Navicula;
Nostoc; Phaeodactylum; Porphyridium;
Rhodella; Scytonema 		Extracellular
polysaccharides;
structural
polysaccharides;
energy-storage
polysaccharides		 Polysaccharides
Table 3. cont.1.
Role in
Agriculture 		Biological
Activity 		Microalgal/Cyanobacterial Sources Examples Metabolites
Soil bioremediation and fertilization Crops’ protection against bacteria, insects, and other biotic and abiotic stress conditions Crops’ fortification Anticancer;
anti-inflammatory;
antioxidant		 Chlorella protothecoides; Chlorella
pyrenoidosa; Chlorella zofingiensis;
Dunaliella salina; Haematococcus
pluvialis; Muriellopsis sp.;
Phaeodactylum tricornutum;
Spirulina sp.		 Alpha-carotene;
beta-carotene; lutein;
lycopene; astaxanthin;
zeaxanthin		 Carotenoids
Plant growth stimulation Regulation of cellular activities in crops’ response to stress conditions Chemical messengers Arthrospira; Chlamydomonas;
Chlorella; Phormidium; Protococcus;
Scenedesmus 		Auxins; abscisic acid;
cytokinins; ethylene;
gibberellins		 Phytohormones