What Is in Store for EPS Microalgae in the Next Decade?
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Université Clermont Auvergne, CNRS, SIGMA Clermont, Institut Pascal, F-63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France
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Institut Universitaire de France (IUF), 1 rue Descartes, 75005 Paris, France
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Xanthella, Malin House, European Marine Science Park, Dunstaffnage, Argyll, Oban PA37 1SZ, Scotland, UK
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GreenSea Biotechnologies, Promenade du sergent Navarro, 34140 Meze, France
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Station Biologique de Roscoff, Place Georges Teissier, 29680 Roscoff, France
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Academic Editor: Sylvia Colliec-Jouault
Molecules 2019, 24(23), 4296; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules24234296
Received: 12 October 2019
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Revised: 12 November 2019
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Accepted: 15 November 2019
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Published: 25 November 2019
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Fascinating Story of Natural Polysaccharides in Glycosciences: From Extraction to Applications)
Microalgae and their metabolites have been an El Dorado since the turn of the 21st century. Many scientific works and industrial exploitations have thus been set up. These developments have often highlighted the need to intensify the processes for biomass production in photo-autotrophy and exploit all the microalgae value including ExoPolySaccharides (EPS). Indeed, the bottlenecks limiting the development of low value products from microalgae are not only linked to biology but also to biological engineering problems including harvesting, recycling of culture media, photoproduction, and biorefinery. Even respecting the so-called “Biorefinery Concept”, few applications had a chance to emerge and survive on the market. Thus, exploiting EPS from microalgae for industrial applications in some low-value markets such as food is probably not a mature proposition considering the competitiveness of polysaccharides from terrestrial plants, macroalgae, and bacteria. However, it does not imply drawing a line on their uses but rather “thinking them” differently. This review provides insights into microalgae, EPS, and their exploitation. Perspectives on issues affecting the future of EPS microalgae are also addressed with a critical point of view.
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Keywords:
microalgae; exopolysaccharides; EPS; application; market
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MDPI and ACS Style
Pierre, G.; Delattre, C.; Dubessay, P.; Jubeau, S.; Vialleix, C.; Cadoret, J.-P.; Probert, I.; Michaud, P. What Is in Store for EPS Microalgae in the Next Decade? Molecules 2019, 24, 4296. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules24234296
AMA Style
Pierre G, Delattre C, Dubessay P, Jubeau S, Vialleix C, Cadoret J-P, Probert I, Michaud P. What Is in Store for EPS Microalgae in the Next Decade? Molecules. 2019; 24(23):4296. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules24234296
Chicago/Turabian StylePierre, Guillaume, Cédric Delattre, Pascal Dubessay, Sébastien Jubeau, Carole Vialleix, Jean-Paul Cadoret, Ian Probert, and Philippe Michaud. 2019. "What Is in Store for EPS Microalgae in the Next Decade?" Molecules 24, no. 23: 4296. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules24234296
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