Contents



Preface

I am pleased to introduce the book "Microalgae - From Physiology to Application" published by IntechOpen publisher. The book summarizes current reviews and original articles on microalgae. The term microalgae is commonly used to describe microscopic algae and cyanobacteria. It is thus a very diverse group of photosynthetic microorganisms living in a variety of environments including extreme habitats. Not only are these organisms fascinating, they can also be exploited by humans for biotechnologies. Except for the variety of applications, this book aims to address at least some aspects of microalgae physiology, as applications in biotech-

nology cannot be successful without a solid knowledge of physiology.

the complexity of the topic.

freshwater systems.

described in detail.

production and environmental monitoring.

oxygen, of dried microalgal biomass is important.

The book is organized into four sections and twelve chapters. The sections *Phytoplankton, Microalgae as a nutrition, Microalgae applications,* and *Microalgae secondary metabolites* are not strictly defined and the topics partly overlap, reflecting

The first section *Phytoplankton* presents Chapter 1, which describes the potential of a novel fluorescent spectroscopic technique for a microalgae species discrimination. The method is based on special data processing of a set of fluorescent spectra, obtained from a single photosynthetic cell of cyanobacteria. The universality of the considered technique makes it possible to use for investigation of any phytoplankton species irrespective of their habitat or cultivation. The automatization of the cyanobacterial species differentiation is a key problem in both industrial biomass

Chapter 2 discusses the eutrophication of inland waters in many countries from North to South America due to the increase of the internal load of nitrogen and phosphorus. As a consequence, the phytoplankton community in freshwater lakes and reservoirs is mainly dominated by Cyanobacteria. The taxonomic groups of phytoplankton can be used to indicate the trophic level and water quality status of

Chapter 3 is a very nice tutorial summarizing various techniques and laboratory protocols of the isolation of native microalgae and their characterization standardized by the authors. The biotechnological potential (biodiesel and nutraceuticals production) of the native microalgae isolated from Peruvian Amazon is evaluated. The isolation and culture techniques of native microalgae, culture media, growth evaluation process and techniques for molecular characterization are listed and

The second section *Microalgae as a nutrition* includes Chapter 4, which reviews the effect of traditional and innovative drying methods on quality and stability of microalgae biomass powders with potential use in human alimentation. Microalgae are dried to allow easy storage and transportation as well as to facilitate their use in biorefinery and the food and feed industry. The understanding of the degradative phenomena that occur during storage, namely high sensitivity to light, heat and
