Microalgae as a new source of biologically active compounds with antibacterial activity

The global use of antimicrobial agents in human and veterinary medicine has led to the emergence and spread of resistant microorganisms, which in some cases no longer respond to several classes of antibacterial drugs.One of the approaches to tackle the global issue of antibiotic resistance, on the one hand, and to advance the technologies ofpopulation health protection, on the other hand, is to find producers of new antimicrobial natural compounds. Therefore, avery promising source of these compounds is microalgae and cyanobacteria. The first studies of biologically active compounds (BAC) of microalgae and cyanobacteria began in the 40-50 years of the 20th century. However, only in the last decade, microalgae have become the center of numerous studies aimed at finding new BAC that could be used in various branches of medicine and veterinary medicine. As a result of numerous studies, it was found that microalgae are able to produce compounds that have antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal antiprotozoal effects. Biopharmaceuticals based on microalgae and cyanobacteria can be not only an effective, but also a safer alternative (unlike chemically synthesizedsubstances) in the treatment of bacterial and fungal infections in humans and animals. Moreover, they can form the basis formanufacturing organic preservative agents, the need for which is steadily growing under the impact of increasing demandfrom the multinational groups of food companies. The purpose of this review is to summarize the information of studies of domestic and foreign scientists on biologically active metabolites of microalgae that have an antibacterial effect.

microalgae, cyanobacteria, antimicrobial compounds, fatty acids, flavonoids