They're Tiny, Green and Have Just About A Million Ways To Enrich Your Life – Here's Why Algae Should Be On Your Radar

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When people think of algae, they don’t associate it with life-saving drugs. 

But maybe they should. 

The chlorophyll-containing organisms have a host of antioxidants, anticancer and antiviral properties that have landed them among a number of drugs in the pharmaceutical market. Carrageen, for example, is a form of red algae used to treat an influenza virus. Galactan, Alginate, Nostaflan and Fucan are all algae-based substances used to fight a multitude of viruses, including HIV, human cytomegalovirus, hepatitis B and hepatitis C. The medicinal uses of algae are almost limitless. Aside from the ailments listed above, these microscopic organisms are crucial in the treatment of hemorrhoids, parasitic diseases, goiters, urinary-tract infections, thyroid problems, edema and tonsil pain. 

Algae’s antiviral properties have even been considered in the war against the pandemic with one study citing that “algal anti-inflammatory compounds have the potential to treat the severe symptoms of COVID-19” and be used in “serological test kits, vaccines and supplements.”

Algae’s role in biopharmaceuticals extends beyond drugs and treatment. Algae is also a prominent component of nutraceuticals like food and dietary supplements, value-added processed foods as well as nonfood supplements such as tablets and soft gels. Spirulina algae, for example, is used in nutraceuticals and reportedly provides antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-tumour properties.

The future role that algae could play is almost as impressive as its current repertoire of applications. High-value oils, cosmetics, colorants, wastewater management, fertilizer and forensic medicine are just some of the potential products and industries that could be impacted by these industrious microorganisms. 

Algae Believers: Who’s Betting On Their Rise?

The $35 billion algae market is projected to increase to $45 billion in 2023, and major corporations like Exxon Mobil Corp. XOM and L’Oreal Paris OR have already placed their bets on the potential algae boom.

Pond Technologies Holdings Inc. POND PNDHF, one of the companies leading the algae movement, is betting on the transformative power of this green technology. Pond designs and operates algae bioreactors that attach to existing industrial outputs – smokestacks – and clean the emissions. The CO2 fuels the algae’s growth, a mutually beneficial relationship for all involved.

Algae can be specifically targeted to the mix of gasses being emitted by the factory. As the algae flourish, they can be harvested and converted into useful products like animal feed. This process allows the factory's emissions to be monetized, making a carbon asset out of an emissions liability.

Pond has leveraged its algae-siphoning abilities to produce a host of algae-based products. Its AquaCulture division, for example, uses algae as a feed source for the $108 billion fish- and plant-farming industries, while its Phycocyanin division uses blue spirulina algae to supply a popular, natural food colorant to the $1.3 billion Phycocyanin market. 

Pond also has its hands in algae-based human supplements. It supplies Astaxanthin — “nature’s strongest antioxidant” — to a $927 million market. Aside from food supplements, Astaxanthin is also used in aquaculture feed and is a natural preservative for CBD oils. 

If you are interested in learning more about Pond and the products it produces from algae, click here. 

This post contains sponsored advertising content. This content is for informational purposes only and not intended to be investing advice.

Photo by Clement Remond on Unsplash