**Author details**

*Microalgae - From Physiology to Application*

tive for pharmaceutical applications [51].

dressings, and biodegradable plastic applications.

cally converted into bioethanol [49].

**6. Conclusions**

molecule is fucoidan, which is associated with brown algal cell wall components (*Phaeophyceae*). Among the bioactivities derived from this molecule, the anticoagulant, antitumor, antivirus, and antioxidant properties stand out, making it attrac-

Besides these applications, the remaining biomass of microalgae presents carbohydrate-rich molecules, which have been widely used in the production of bioplastics, agar, sugars, and other high-added value chemicals. However, despite being a growing area, the biorefinery stage must be studied in order to extend its applicability on an industrial scale [51]. According to Mihranyan [52], the rheological behavior of cellulose found in *Cladophora* algae is similar to micro fibrillated cellulose. Because this cellulose is very robust and not susceptible to chemical reactions, the properties of cellulose found in these algae provide excellent rheological properties making this material interesting in food, pharmaceuticals, paints,

The high carbohydrate content and low-ash values make microalgae more suitable for conversion to biofuels [43]. The production of bioethanol from microalgae gained importance due to their high biomass productivity, diversity, variable chemical composition, and high photosynthetic rates of these organisms [53]. Due to the large amount of carbohydrates/polysaccharides and cellulose walls, these microorganisms become favorable for the production of this biofuel [54, 55]. In many countries, ethanol is produced on a large scale from crops containing sugars and starches in its composition through fermentation. The biomass is ground, and the starch is converted into sugars by different methods. Polysaccharide starch is also accessible as a storage material for various algal species and can be anaerobi-

Microalgae biomass conversion technologies involve carbohydrates as the main source in the production of biofuels and other compounds of high commercial value. Changes in metabolic pathways aiming at increased carbohydrate production are seen as a potential for enhancing microalgae biotechnology. Extraction methods and trends in analytical methodologies focus on microalgae cell wall polysaccharides and the polymers excreted by these microorganisms. The high carbohydrate content makes microalgae excellent candidates for the production of numerous biocomposites, especially beta-glucan, which is on the international market, indicating

its strong potential for its use in different biotechnological applications.

**164**

Maiara Priscilla de Souza1 , Andrea Sanchez-Barrios1 , Tiele Medianeira Rizzetti1 , Lisianne Brittes Benitez1 , Michele Hoeltz1 , Rosana de Cassia de Souza Schneider1 and Fábio de Farias Neves2 \*

1 University of Santa Cruz do Sul, Santa Cruz do Sul, Brazil

2 Santa Catarina State University, Laguna, Brazil

\*Address all correspondence to: fabio.neves@udesc.br

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
