Agradecimentos: The authors are grateful to the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq), Brazil, for the scholarship by BL Tagliapietra and MTP Clerici (Process 140805/2020-6 and 312786/2020-4) and the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES) – financial code 001, Brazil, for the scholarship by LA Borges and NL Bezerra, and support to the PostGraduate program of Food Technology of University of Campinas (UNICAMP), São Paulo, Brazil. Conflict of Interest The authors declare no conflict of interest Ver menos

Abstract: The social concern with sustainable development encourages the study of new sources of starch; among these sources, the cultivation of macroalgae is a strategy for the development of a sustainable bioeconomy. This mini-review aims to present the main aspects related to the current seaweed market, the extraction, composition, and properties of starch, as well as its prospects as a sustainable ingredient capable of generating income and health for the world's population. The green algae species Ulva has been suggested as a promising source for starch extraction; however extraction is a challenge mainly due to the difficulty in breaking down the cell walls and isolating the starch granules. The algal starch granule is small (1.7–7 µm), and another characteristic is the high amylose content, above 55%, which may indicate that it is a resistant starch or slow digestion. Seaweed starch still needs to be scaled its production, extraction, and application potential, as a main ingredient or as a co-product of gum processing, which already have a production chain, as they have great potential as nutraceutical or functional starch for food of low calorie, or for applications as a thickener in the food, cosmetics, and other industries Ver menos