A review on bioactive compounds mitigating climate change
TL;DR
Critical barriers include bromoform volatility, brachialactone lability in soil, microalgal lipid production costs 10–100× petroleum, and carbonic anhydrase denaturation in flue gas conditions, while knowledge gaps persist regarding methanogen adaptation, ecosystem-scale effects and consumer acceptance.
Abstract
This review examines whether bioactive compounds (naturally occurring secondary metabolites from plants, algae, fungi and microorganisms) can serve as sustainable, complementary tools for climate change mitigation across terrestrial, aquatic, agricultural and industrial systems, addressing the persistent technological, economic and political limitations of conventional energy decarbonization. A comprehensive literature synthesis was conducted across disparate disciplines including marine biology, soil science, animal nutrition, plant biochemistry, industrial biotechnology and atmospheric chemistry, systematically categorizing bioactive compounds by chemical class, source organism and mechanism of action, with critical evaluation of scalability, stability, economic viability and regulatory status supported by original tables and figures. The review integrated peer-reviewed literature from 1987 to 2025, extracting mechanistic data on specific enzyme targets (methyl-coenzyme M reductase for bromoform; ammonia monooxygenase for biological nitrification inhibitors), assessing scalability using Technology Readiness Levels (TRL 1–9), quantifying degradation kinetics (bromoform half-life <1 h in rumen fluid), and comparing life cycle assessment energy penalties for algal carbon capture (2.5–4.0 MJ/kg CO2) against conventional amine scrubbing (1.2–1.8 MJ/kg CO2). Halogenated compounds from Asparagopsis seaweeds inhibit rumen methanogenesis via competitive inhibition of methyl-coenzyme M reductase, reducing enteric methane by 80–95%; biological nitrification inhibitors suppress ammonia monooxygenase in soils, reducing nitrous oxide by 70–90%; condensed tannins reduce enteric methane by 15–30% and soil N2O by 30–70% but exhibit trade-offs including nitrogen immobilization and potential increases in N2O:N2 ratios; and dimethylsulfoniopropionate from marine phytoplankton influences cloud formation via sulphate aerosol production, though the net climate feedback remains debated. Critical barriers include bromoform volatility (TRL 6–7), brachialactone lability in soil (TRL 4–5), microalgal lipid production costs 10–100× petroleum, and carbonic anhydrase denaturation in flue gas conditions, while knowledge gaps persist regarding methanogen adaptation, ecosystem-scale effects and consumer acceptance. Bioactive compounds offer mechanistically specific, biologically mediated pathways for greenhouse gas abatement and carbon sequestration that complement conventional mitigation, but scalability (not intrinsic efficacy) is the central barrier; without breakthroughs in encapsulation, trait breeding and enzyme immobilization, these solutions will remain niche. Realizing their full potential requires transdisciplinary collaboration, robust life-cycle assessments, regulatory reform for feed additives and carbon crediting, equitable benefit-sharing under the Nagoya Protocol and integration into nationally determined contributions under the Paris Agreement. With the 1.5 °C threshold already breached, the molecular machinery of the biosphere is an under-leveraged asset that must be engineered, scaled and deployed with rigor and humility.