Edible Oil From Algal Sources: Characteristics and Properties as Novel Food Ingredient

Microalgae are one of the most promising sources for the sustainable supply of food and food ingredients. The microalgae lipids offer excellent possibilities to support and replace, at least in part, the nutritional functions of the vegetable oils most used at present for human nutrition. Furthermore, they can be used as edible oils for developing novel functional foods, as ingredients for cosmetic and health applications, as building blocks in the chemical industry and as a source of biofuels. Like all vegetal systems, microalgae have a very varied micro and macroscopic composition. However, the production using photo-bioreactors and lipid extraction procedures are at present very expensive and pose some environmental challenges. Therefore, further studies are needed to reduce production costs and environmental impact, so that use on a large scale is made possible in terms of environmental sustainability.