{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,2]],"date-time":"2026-04-02T10:48:36Z","timestamp":1775126916802,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":40,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"7","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,31]],"date-time":"2026-03-31T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1774915200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Biology"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Microalgae and cyanobacteria are investigated for compounds that may relate to obesity and metabolic phenotypes, yet the evidence base remains scattered and inconsistently reported. We conducted a PRISMA-ScR scoping review of PubMed, Europe PMC, and OpenAlex and mapped eligible full-text studies to a controlled vocabulary covering intervention concepts, mechanistic pathway nodes, and obesity-related outcome domains. Of 2651 reports sought for full text, 936\/2651 (35.3%) were not retrieved; therefore, evidence maps should be interpreted as conditioned on full-text accessibility. We included 836 studies and summarized study density (counts only) by population\/model tier, mechanistic reporting depth, chemical class, and safety\/toxin flags. The literature is concentrated in animal models (485 studies) and human studies (292), with fewer in vitro\/ex vivo reports (59). Mechanistic reporting was often limited: 582 studies did not provide extractable mechanistic endpoints, whereas 254 reported biomarker or pathway \u201canchors\u201d. Across intervention concepts, lipid\/PUFA, carotenoids, phycobiliproteins, and polysaccharides were most common; within the anchored subset, inflammation (NF-\u03baB), AMPK signaling, adipogenesis (PPAR\u03b3-related), and lipogenesis were the most frequently mapped nodes. Together, this evidence map clarifies where mechanistic anchoring and safety documentation are sparse and provides a clear starting point for downstream evaluation.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/biology15070557","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,2]],"date-time":"2026-04-02T09:26:12Z","timestamp":1775121972000},"page":"557","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Microalgae and Cyanobacteria in the Obesity Evidence Landscape: A PRISMA-ScR Scoping Review with Mechanistic and Safety Mapping"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"given":"Quoc-Phong","family":"Huynh","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Lanh Binh Thang General Hospital, 72 Street No. 5, Binh Thoi Ward, Ho Chi Minh City 72622, Vietnam"},{"name":"Faculty of Biology and Environment, Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry and Trade (HUIT), 140 Le Trong Tan Street, Tay Thanh Ward, Ho Chi Minh City 72009, Vietnam"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5919-6114","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Quoc-Dang","family":"Quan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Office of Science and Technology, University of Science, VNUHCM, 227 Nguyen Van Cu Street, Cho Quan Ward, Ho Chi Minh City 72722, Vietnam"},{"name":"Institute for Applied Research in Health Sciences and Aging, Thong Nhat Hospital, 01 Ly Thuong Kiet Street, Tan Son Nhat Ward, Ho Chi Minh City 72121, Vietnam"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4863-0530","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Viet-The","family":"Ho","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Biology and Environment, Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry and Trade (HUIT), 140 Le Trong Tan Street, Tay Thanh Ward, Ho Chi Minh City 72009, Vietnam"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2777-0828","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Quang-Tri","family":"Le","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Board of Directors, Military Hospital 175, 786 Nguyen Kiem Street, Hanh Thong Ward, Ho Chi Minh City 71423, Vietnam"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0006-8848-8320","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Huu-Cuong","family":"Nguyen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Research and Application for Science and Technology Asian, 84 Huynh Van Banh Street, Cau Kieu Ward, Ho Chi Minh City 72222, Vietnam"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3563-2887","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Hoang-Dung","family":"Tran","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Biology and Environment, Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry and Trade (HUIT), 140 Le Trong Tan Street, Tay Thanh Ward, Ho Chi Minh City 72009, Vietnam"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,31]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"G\u00f3mez-Zorita, S., Trepiana, J., Gonz\u00e1lez-Arceo, M., Aguirre, L., Milton-Laskibar, I., Gonz\u00e1lez, M., Eseberri, I., Fern\u00e1ndez-Quintela, A., and Portillo, M.P. 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