Algae and their uses in agriculture . An update

The need for sustainable agriculture and consumers of organic products have increased worldwide in recent years. For this reason, the increase in the use of biological products is one of the challenges of modern agriculture. The use of algae is one of the most viable options to use for these purposes. Algae are photosynthetic organisms of simple organization that live in water or in very humid environments. Spirulina is a type of green-blue microalgae, belonging to the genus Arthrospira, which is cultivated in many parts of the world and has a great interest in the field of biotechnology, due to its high nutritional value. With this bibliographic review it is proposed to give an overview and updated on the algae, its classification, its composition, extraction methods and characterization; as well as its uses in agriculture, emphasizing Spirulina for being an algae reproduced in Cuba, more than two decades ago, for cosmetic and pharmaceutical purposes; however, very little used for agricultural purposes.