Algae as a Novel Source of Antimicrobial Compounds

Algae produce a variety of valuable natural metabolites that may be used within the field of pharmaceuticals. Nowadays, different bioactive compounds such as fucoxanthin, fucophlorethol, loliolide, and deschloroelatol are isolated from algal species such as Myagropsis myagroides, Ascophyllum nodosum, Laurencia rigida, and Undaria pinnatifida. Parsiguine and tjipanazoles are other bioactive compounds with antimicrobial activity that are isolated from algal species like Tolypothrix tjipanasensis. In some cases, these isolated antibacterials can be used against multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria. Eicosapentaenoic acid isolated from Phaeodactylum tricornutum is an example of a substance that can be deployed against MDR Staphylococcus aureus bacteria. This chapter describes a number of successful studies and the current situation and perspectives on using algal species to produce bioactive molecules and antimicrobials.