Microalgae as Potential Sources of Bioactive Compounds for Functional Foods and Pharmaceuticals
Microalgae are an untapped source of bioactive compounds with various biotechnological applications. Several species are industrially produced and commercialized for the feed or cosmetic industries, however, other applications in the functional food and pharmaceutical markets can be foreseen. In thi...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-06-01
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| Series: | Applied Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/12/12/5877 |
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| author | Mélanie Silva Farah Kamberovic Sisay Tesema Uota Ismael-Mohammed Kovan Carla S. B. Viegas Dina C. Simes Katkam N. Gangadhar João Varela Luísa Barreira |
| author_facet | Mélanie Silva Farah Kamberovic Sisay Tesema Uota Ismael-Mohammed Kovan Carla S. B. Viegas Dina C. Simes Katkam N. Gangadhar João Varela Luísa Barreira |
| author_sort | Mélanie Silva |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Microalgae are an untapped source of bioactive compounds with various biotechnological applications. Several species are industrially produced and commercialized for the feed or cosmetic industries, however, other applications in the functional food and pharmaceutical markets can be foreseen. In this study, nine industrial/commercial species were evaluated for in vitro antioxidant, calcium-chelating, anti-tumoral, and anti-inflammatory activities. The most promising extracts were fractionated yielding several promising fractions namely, of <i>Tetraselmis striata</i> CTP4 with anti-inflammatory activity (99.0 ± 0.8% reduction in TNF-α production in LPS stimulated human macrophages at 50 µg/mL), of <i>Phaeodactylum Tricornutum</i> with cytotoxicity towards cancerous cell lines (IC<sub>50</sub> = 22.3 ± 1.8 μg/mL and 27.5 ± 1.6 μg/mL for THP-1 and HepG2, respectively) and of <i>Porphyridium</i> sp. and <i>Skeletonema</i> sp. with good chelating activity for iron, copper and calcium (IC<sub>50</sub> = 0.047, 0.272, 0.0663 mg/mL and IC<sub>50</sub> = 0.055, 0.240, 0.0850 mg/mL, respectively). These fractions were chemically characterized by GC–MS after derivatization and in all, fatty acids at various degrees of unsaturation were the most abundant compounds. Some of the species under study proved to be potentially valuable sources of antioxidant, metal chelators, anti-tumoral and anti-inflammatory compounds with possible application in the functional food and pharmaceutical industries. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T00:31:18Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2c3ddec856a14f85b8b70c7ba6f1062e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-3417 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T00:31:18Z |
| publishDate | 2022-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Applied Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-2c3ddec856a14f85b8b70c7ba6f1062e2023-11-23T15:24:01ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172022-06-011212587710.3390/app12125877Microalgae as Potential Sources of Bioactive Compounds for Functional Foods and PharmaceuticalsMélanie Silva0Farah Kamberovic1Sisay Tesema Uota2Ismael-Mohammed Kovan3Carla S. B. Viegas4Dina C. Simes5Katkam N. Gangadhar6João Varela7Luísa Barreira8Centre of Marine Sciences, University of Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, 8005-139 Faro, PortugalCentre of Marine Sciences, University of Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, 8005-139 Faro, PortugalCentre of Marine Sciences, University of Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, 8005-139 Faro, PortugalCentre of Marine Sciences, University of Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, 8005-139 Faro, PortugalCentre of Marine Sciences, University of Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, 8005-139 Faro, PortugalCentre of Marine Sciences, University of Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, 8005-139 Faro, PortugalCentre of Marine Sciences, University of Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, 8005-139 Faro, PortugalCentre of Marine Sciences, University of Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, 8005-139 Faro, PortugalCentre of Marine Sciences, University of Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, 8005-139 Faro, PortugalMicroalgae are an untapped source of bioactive compounds with various biotechnological applications. Several species are industrially produced and commercialized for the feed or cosmetic industries, however, other applications in the functional food and pharmaceutical markets can be foreseen. In this study, nine industrial/commercial species were evaluated for in vitro antioxidant, calcium-chelating, anti-tumoral, and anti-inflammatory activities. The most promising extracts were fractionated yielding several promising fractions namely, of <i>Tetraselmis striata</i> CTP4 with anti-inflammatory activity (99.0 ± 0.8% reduction in TNF-α production in LPS stimulated human macrophages at 50 µg/mL), of <i>Phaeodactylum Tricornutum</i> with cytotoxicity towards cancerous cell lines (IC<sub>50</sub> = 22.3 ± 1.8 μg/mL and 27.5 ± 1.6 μg/mL for THP-1 and HepG2, respectively) and of <i>Porphyridium</i> sp. and <i>Skeletonema</i> sp. with good chelating activity for iron, copper and calcium (IC<sub>50</sub> = 0.047, 0.272, 0.0663 mg/mL and IC<sub>50</sub> = 0.055, 0.240, 0.0850 mg/mL, respectively). These fractions were chemically characterized by GC–MS after derivatization and in all, fatty acids at various degrees of unsaturation were the most abundant compounds. Some of the species under study proved to be potentially valuable sources of antioxidant, metal chelators, anti-tumoral and anti-inflammatory compounds with possible application in the functional food and pharmaceutical industries.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/12/12/5877anti-inflammatory activityanti-tumoral activityantioxidant activitybioactive compoundsneuroprotective compoundshealth benefits |
| spellingShingle | Mélanie Silva Farah Kamberovic Sisay Tesema Uota Ismael-Mohammed Kovan Carla S. B. Viegas Dina C. Simes Katkam N. Gangadhar João Varela Luísa Barreira Microalgae as Potential Sources of Bioactive Compounds for Functional Foods and Pharmaceuticals Applied Sciences anti-inflammatory activity anti-tumoral activity antioxidant activity bioactive compounds neuroprotective compounds health benefits |
| title | Microalgae as Potential Sources of Bioactive Compounds for Functional Foods and Pharmaceuticals |
| title_full | Microalgae as Potential Sources of Bioactive Compounds for Functional Foods and Pharmaceuticals |
| title_fullStr | Microalgae as Potential Sources of Bioactive Compounds for Functional Foods and Pharmaceuticals |
| title_full_unstemmed | Microalgae as Potential Sources of Bioactive Compounds for Functional Foods and Pharmaceuticals |
| title_short | Microalgae as Potential Sources of Bioactive Compounds for Functional Foods and Pharmaceuticals |
| title_sort | microalgae as potential sources of bioactive compounds for functional foods and pharmaceuticals |
| topic | anti-inflammatory activity anti-tumoral activity antioxidant activity bioactive compounds neuroprotective compounds health benefits |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/12/12/5877 |
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