ABSTRACT
Microalgae and macroalgae are well recognized in the food market and in agricultural and industrial sectors. However, marine algae have more agricultural applications than freshwater algae, especially as feedstock for aquaculture. The map locating large population of marine-algal farms in Thailand is present in the chapter, and the reason could be the fact that Thailand is popularly oriented to fisheries and aquaculture industry. Originally, the main purpose of marine-algal cultivation in Thailand was for use as feedstock for the larvae-stage of fish, shrimp, blue-crab and abalone. However, now it is increasingly used to treat the seawater that maybe contaminated with fertilizer for use in aquaculture industry. Thus, the expansion of the market for aquaculture would provide impetus to the algae-based feeds to support this industry. The current situation of local algal-biomass production and its applications as well as the high-value biochemical compounds present in micro- and macroalgae, including their extractions and potential uses, are discussed in this chapter. Taken together, it leads to the trends of algal research in Thailand, which are now market-driven to translational and application aimed activities. High throughput technologies, e.g., OMICS and system biology, are applied in algal research for commercial production of a range of products in food, feed, health, biochemicals and energy sectors.
