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Microalgae are the autotrophic organisms that use light as a source of energy for producing a variety of valuable bioactive compounds like proteins, polysaccharides, lipids, and pigments. Because of its rapid growth rate and ability to survive in severe environmental conditions, currently microalgae are implemented in different industrial sectors. Therefore, being a supplier of various bioactive compounds, microalgae are progressively penetrating into the food market to meet the rising consumer demands. The procedure of acquiring microalgae-derived bioactive compounds begins with the selection of appropriate microalgae species and cultivation following the downstream processing of biomass involving pre-treatment, harvesting, extraction, and purification. However, there are several issues to be resolved for the practical application of microalgae-based foods. High economic cost, low production yield, underdeveloped downstream and upstream processing, uneconomical extraction methods, low product acceptance, and limited information on clinical and non-clinical trials are some of the recent bottlenecks that demands to be acknowledged for the upscaling of extracted bioactive compounds from algal biomass. To conclude, joint efforts are required for revolutionizing algae into a green and novel factory of multiple bioactive compounds for commercial application to fulfil and satisfy universal needs. The present review focuses on the possibilities driven by the microalgae for its successful application in the food industry, analyzing the positive influence of microalgal-derived products on human health, and outlining the current challenges.

•Different biomass as sustainable alternative of biofuel•Different thermochemical method for biomass velarization•By-product utilization of thermochemical method•Current status of thermochemical method for biomass velarization

The contribution of plastic packaging in food is substantial, but issues associated with its biodegradability and recycling initiates major concerns for environment and human health thus necessitating substitution of conventional synthetic plastics with bio-based packaging materials. Studies have demonstrated economic competition of bio-based materials with synthetic plastics because of their biodegradability, wide availability, excellent barrier and mechanical properties. These materials can be commercialized on a large scale but still somehow are under-investigated in many areas. Moreover, some of the influencing factors including confusion between bio-based and biodegradability pose a significant challenge on evolution of bio-based packaging. Therefore, the review focuses on bio-based packaging materials derived from various renewable resources like biomass, microorganisms and microalgae involving their possible food packaging applications along with required development in multiple regions for proper utilization of offered advantages in the food packaging market.