Are we out of the infancy of microalgae-based drug discovery?

In the last 20 years, we have witnessed increased interest in prospecting novel drugs from microalgae-derived bioactive metabolites. However, despite the conspicuous amount of literature about bioactivity screening of microalgal extracts, we have found few investigations focusing on the subsequent phases of the drug discovery process. We identify here the main critical aspects of the reported approaches, and suggest a number of experimental steps for moving beyond the current infancy state, in order to implement a more advanced microalgae-based drug discovery project. This might assist researchers in understanding microalgae systems, and their potential for therapeutic applications.

Automated summary

Over the past 20 years, there has been a growing interest in prospecting novel drugs from microalgae-derived bioactive metabolites, but the focus has mainly been on bioactivity screening with few investigations into the subsequent phases of drug discovery. Identifying critical aspects and suggesting experimental steps for advancing beyond the current stages could help researchers understand microalgae systems and their potential for therapeutic applications.