Study on bioactive compounds of microalgae as antioxidants in a bibliometric analysis and visualization perspective

Area of Science:

• Biotechnology
• Marine Biology
• Natural Product Chemistry

Background:

• Natural antioxidants offer safer alternatives to synthetic ones due to their non-toxic properties.
• Microalgal bioactive compounds like carotenoids, polysaccharides, and phenolics are recognized for potent antioxidant capabilities.
• Limited bibliometric analyses exist for microalgal antioxidant research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conduct a bibliometric and visualization analysis of research on microalgal bioactive compounds as natural antioxidants.
• To identify key research areas, trends, and future directions in this field.
• To provide insights for researchers aiming to advance scientific frontiers in microalgal antioxidant applications.

Main Methods:

• Bibliometric analysis using the Web of Science Core Collection database.
• Data collection spanning from 1996 to 2022.
• Cluster analysis, keyword co-occurrence, and keyword mutation analysis were employed.

Main Results:

• The most studied areas include the effectiveness, antioxidant mechanisms, and applications of microalgal compounds (e.g., carotene, astaxanthin, tocopherols).
• Key application fields identified are food, cosmetics, and medicine.
• Predicted future trends involve enhancing extraction efficiency and stability, potentially using environmental modifications or nanoparticle integration.

Conclusions:

• This study maps the landscape of microalgal antioxidant research, highlighting its significance and growth.
• Future research should focus on optimizing extraction and stabilization techniques for industrial and commercial viability.
• The findings offer a roadmap for researchers to identify opportunities and contribute to impactful studies in natural antioxidants.