Numerous compounds have been isolated from marine algae and some of these have been chosen to illustrate this array of metabolites concentrating on those with biological activity. Examples have been taken from different algal divisions, including the paralytic and diarrhetic shellfish toxins produced by dinoflagellates; toxins isolated from the cyanobacteria; the economically important phycocolloids, alginate, agar and carrageenan, extracted from species in the Phaeophyta and Rhodophyta; and compounds with pharmacological properties, such as ichthyotoxicity and antimicrobial, antitumour, anti-inflammatory, central nervous system, plant growth regulatory and antiplant pest activities.
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