Cyanobacteria have emerged as a promising, yet underexplored source of metabolites with applications in nutrition, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals. This review aims to analyze the current and potential commercial uses of cyanobacterial products in health, focusing on their roles as nutritional supplements, cosmetic ingredients, and in drug development. The literature search was conducted in the PubMed database in line with PRISMA guidelines, including peer-reviewed studies published between 2008 and 2025. After applying inclusion and exclusion criteria, articles were selected and qualitatively analyzed. Results highlight the nutritional value of cyanobacterial biomass, especially Spirulina, which offers high protein content and clinical benefits such as weight management and immune support. In cosmetics, bioactive compounds like phycocyanin and mycosporine-like amino acids provide antioxidant and photoprotective effects. Pharmaceutical applications include derivatives of the metabolites dolastatin-10 that have reached clinical use in antibody–drug conjugates for cancer treatment, alongside other compounds under investigation. Advances in genomics, metabolomics, and strong academic-industry collaborations have shown to be essential for optimizing production and expanding these applications. Cyanobacteria constitute a versatile and strategic resource for innovation across multiple health-related sectors, with future success depending on the integration of omics-based approaches, biotechnological tools, and sustainable production methods.
Barroso et al. (Thu,) studied this question.