ISSUE FOCUS FEED & ADDITIVE MAGAZINE May 2022 39 ALGAE AS A VALUABLE INGREDIENT Problems such as food insufficiency and unbalanced nutrition that may be encountered with the increasing population push human beings to find alternative sources. In this context, algae attract attention with their high nutritional content and health benefits, as well as providing a sustainable food supply. And with these features, algae are also considered a candidate to be a functional food. Daily consumption of foods with the addition of functional ingredients produced by algae can improve health and reduce the risk of chronic diseases. Algae, which have been considered as food for centuries in Asian countries, have now been used in almost every region of the world, either directly as food, as a food additive or as a food supplement. Similar developments are valid within the livestock sector. The feed raw materials used cannot meet the demand due to population growth, and their costs are increasing day by day due to climatic, ecological, logistical reasons. It is seen that global warming, wars, global crises and pandemic also contribute to these cost increases. SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTION: FROM WASTE MATERIALS TO VALUABLE FOOD… One of the main elements that make algae popular today is its compliance with the sustainable production model. Algae use waste materials as an energy source, converting them into valuable nutritional ingredients such as omega-3 fatty acids. Therefore, algae are one of the most important producers of the food chain. It seems possible for algae to be an important source in meeting the nutritional needs in the future, due to the fact that they can increase their weight 2-3 times in a day, their production is easy and economical, and there are no side effects. Metabolites such as fat and fatty acids, protein, carbohydrates (sugars), pigments, minerals, vitamins, sterols, antioxidants and bioactive polyphenols can be produced from algae, which show a very rapid increase in biomass due to their division and proliferation. USAGE AREAS OF ALGAE Algae have been used for various purposes in many areas from past to present. Algae are among the important resources used in many fields such as the food industry, medicine, pharmacy, agriculture, animal nutrition, waste treatment, cosmetics, and biodiesel production. Algae contain many bioactive molecules with wide biological activities such as antioxidant, antibacterial, antiviral and anticarcinogenic. Phycocolloids, which are used as active and auxiliary substances in pharmacy, are obtained from algae. In addition, antioxidant compounds contained in algae have an important place in the fight against free radicals, which are formed during the functioning of metabolism and are the initiator of some chronic diseases. ALGAE AS AN ALTERNATIVE INGREDIENT IN ANIMAL NUTRITION Nutrition plays an important role in the regulation of growth, development and physiological functions as well as being necessary for the maintenance of life. Depending on these factors in both human and animal nutrition, the demand for healthier and natural products is increasing day by day. In addition, the increasing world population, the decrease in agricultural resources and the variability of economic conditions have led to studies for the production of easy-growing, high quality and natural alternative additives. There is a reliable consumption of algae, one of the natural alternative additives, from the past to the present. These natural foods, which are sources of protein, vitamins and minerals, play an important role in both human and animal nutrition. Thanks to
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