Natural Products and Aquaculture: Production, Chemical Characterization, and Functional Applications

Aquatic organisms are rich sources of bioactive compounds collectively referred to as aquatic natural products, including secondary metabolites, pigments, polysaccharides, lipids, and other biologically active molecules. These compounds have a wide chemical diversity and have potential applications in health, pharmacology, food, aquafeed additives, and cosmetics. They are derived from diverse groups such as aquatic microorganisms, microalgae, seaweeds, sponges, bivalves, and other aquatic organisms, often through stress induction, extraction, and purification techniques. In addition, species originating from extreme environments present remarkable biosynthetic potential with relevance to drug discovery and industrial applications. However, the sustainable production of these compounds relies on the adoption of suitable aquaculture practices. Aquaculture not only improves yield and quality but also reduces pressure on natural stocks, thereby supporting environmental sustainability.

In recent years, the production and utilization of aquatic natural products have emerged as a rapidly developing research field; however, studies focusing specifically on products obtained through aquaculture remain limited. This Research Topic aims to bring together current studies that explore how aquaculture-based approaches can be integrated into this area, addressing different aspects of the process from production to application.

Authors are invited to contribute original research articles, reviews, and short communications within the scope of the topics and themes outlined below.

- Production of aquatic natural products such as secondary metabolites, carotenoids, pigments, polysaccharides, phenolics, flavonoids, terpenoids, antimicrobial agents, toxins, sterols, alkaloids, peptides, saponins, and halogenated compounds by aquaculture techniques, as well as the enrichment, extraction, purification, fractionation, product characterization, and specification.

- Application of innovative approaches for the extraction of aquatic natural products, comparison of alternative aquaculture methods, optimization of key parameters, and development of sustainable production strategies, with emphasis on enhancing yield and selectivity and ensuring reproducibility.

- Determination of the chemical structures and physicochemical properties of aquaculture-derived aquatic natural products, evaluation of their bioactivities (e.g., antioxidant, anticancer, antifungal, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory), and discovery of novel compounds using genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic, and metabolomic approaches.

- Production of bioactive compounds from aquatic organisms rich in aquatic natural products, including aquatic yeasts, molds, bacteria, microalgae, macrophytes, crustaceans, mollusks, sponges, cnidarians, certain fish, and bivalves, as well as their microbiota, by subjecting them to controlled stress conditions in aquaculture.

- Isolation and cultivation of aquatic organisms living in extreme conditions such as deep sea, deep-sea hydrothermal vents, polar regions, geothermal waters, high-pressure environments, subglacial lakes, hypersaline lakes, anoxic basins, and sea-ice brine channels; controlled experimental simulation of their native environments to stimulate metabolite biosynthesis, explore their potential for drug discovery, and produce target bioactive compounds.

- Use of aquatic natural products in aquaculture as feed additives improves feed conversion and carcass yield, stimulates metabolism, enhances fillet and skin pigmentation, supports the development of the digestive system, increases digestive enzyme activities, strengthens gut microbiota, enhances immune responses, optimizes growth performance, increases disease resistance, and reduces oxidative stress.

- Utilization of aquaculture-derived aquatic natural products in health, medicine, pharmacology, and cosmetics, including the development of natural drugs and pharmaceutical raw materials, their evaluation for disease prevention and treatment, contribution to functional food and nutraceutical formulations, discovery of new natural antibiotics, investigation of the analgesic and anesthetic effects of marine toxins, exploration of compounds with neuromuscular blockade activity for potential use, and application in cosmetic products as anti-aging, photoprotective, moisturizing, and skin barrier-strengthening agents.

- Production of algal polysaccharides, bioethanol, and biodiesel from aquatic organisms such as microalgae, macroalgae, and other macrophytes, along with the development of algae-based biofertilizers and their evaluation in functional applications.

- Aquaculture implementations of alternative zooplankton species, their enrichment with aquatic natural products and use in larval feeding trials, and the extraction of zooplankton-derived secondary metabolites.

- Use of aquatic microorganisms in aquaculture to produce industrial enzymes, including proteases, lipases, and chitinases, to generate aquaculture-derived biopolymers and bioplastics (e.g., PHA), and to support diverse biotechnological applications.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Classification
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Classification
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Review
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: Marine natural products, extreme environment, bioactive compounds, seafood biochemistry, aquatic biotechnology

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.