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Bioprospecting for lipophilic-like components of five Phaeophyta macroalgae from the Portuguese coast

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Journal of Applied Phycology
Authors:
Sonia Santos at University of Aveiro
Sonia Santos
Cátia Oliveira at University of Aveiro
Cátia Oliveira
Stéphanie S. Trindade
Stéphanie S. Trindade
Stéphanie S. Trindade
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Helena Abreu
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Abstract and Figures

Lipophilic compounds present in dichloromethane extracts of five brown macroalgae from the Portuguese coast were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Their dicarboxylic acids, long-chain aliphatic alcohols, and monoglyceride profile are reported for the first time. Additionally, other new compounds were also first reported: 24-methylene-cholesterol in Himanthalia elongata, Laminaria ochroleuca, and Undaria pinnatifida; desmosterol and brassicasterol in H. elongata, L. ochroleuca, Sargassum muticum, and U. pinnatifida; fucosterol and campesterol in S. muticum; and cholest-5-en-3-ol-(3β)-3-phenyl-2-propenoate in Cystoseira tamariscifolia. Brown macroalgae dichloromethane extracts are mainly composed of fatty acids (463.4–3089.0 mg kg−1 of dry material) and sterols (75.5–442.7 mg kg−1 of dry material). High amounts of polyunsaturated fatty acids were found, with the ω-6/ω-3 ratios of all species lower than 3. Cystoseira tamariscifolia, H. elongata, and S. muticum showed to be also promising sources of fucosterol. These results seem to uphold the incorporation of these macroalgae in a more balanced diet, as well as their use in the nutraceutical industry, as long as they are coupled with sustainable management of these natural resources.
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Bioprospecting for lipophilic-like components of five Phaeophyta
macroalgae from the Portuguese coast
Sónia A. O. Santos
1
&Cátia S. D. Oliveira
1
&Stéphanie S. Trindade
1
&Maria H. Abreu
2
&
Sílvia S. M. Rocha
3
&Armando J. D. Silvestre
1
Received: 27 January 2016 /Revised and accepted: 5 April 2016 / Published online: 14 April 2016
#Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2016
Abstract Lipophilic compounds present in dichlorometh-
ane extracts of five brown macroalgae from the
Portuguese coast were analyzed by gas chromatography-
mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Their dicarboxylic acids,
long-chain aliphatic alcohols, and monoglyceride profile
are reported for the first time. Additionally, other new
compounds were also first reported: 24-methylene-
cholesterol in Himanthalia elongata,Laminaria
ochroleuca,andUndaria pinnatifida; desmosterol and
brassicasterol in H. elongata,L. ochroleuca,Sargassum
muticum,andU. pinnatifida; fucosterol and campesterol
in S. muticum; and cholest-5-en-3-ol-(3β)-3-phenyl-2-
propenoate in Cystoseira tamariscifolia.Brown
macroalgae dichloromethane extracts are mainly com-
posed of fatty acids (463.4–3089.0 mg kg
−1
of dry mate-
rial) and sterols (75.5–442.7 mg kg
−1
of dry material).
High amounts of polyunsaturated fatty acids were found,
with the ω-6/ω-3 ratios of all species lower than 3.
Cystoseira tamariscifolia,H. elongata,andS. muticum
showed to be also promising sources of fucosterol.
These results seem to uphold the incorporation of these
macroalgae in a more balanced diet, as well as their use in
the nutraceutical industry, as long as they are coupled
with sustainable management of these natural resources.
Keywords Phaeophyceae .Cystoseira tamariscifolia .
Himanthalia elongata .Laminaria ochroleuca .Sargassum
muticum .Undaria pinnatifida .Lipophilic compounds .
Sterols
Introduction
Nowadays, there is a marked trend on the development of
functional products, as at the same time there is a growing
interest on the consumption of healthy food. These issues have
led to an increase in the research of natural sources of bioac-
tive compounds, with focus on plants (Touati et al. 2015),
fruits (Vilela et al. 2014), or even biomass residues (Santos
et al. 2013). More recently, marine macroalgae have been seen
as an almost unlimited source of health-promoting compo-
nents (Plaza et al. 2008; Lordan et al. 2011; Santos et al.
2015). Algae occur normally in complex habitats, often
exposed to extreme conditions, with their metabolism
and consequently their chemical composition being highly
influenced by several parameters, such as water salinity,
temperature, and amount and type of nutrients available
(Stengel et al. 2011). Therefore, algae are stimulated to
develop mechanisms of defense, producing a high variety
of secondary metabolites (Plaza et al. 2008); hence, the
search for bioactive components from macroalgae can be
considered an almost unlimited field.
More than 100 seaweeds are consumed worldwide, in par-
ticular in Asian countries. The inclusion of these marine or-
ganisms in the diet has been gaining high importance also in
other countries, including Europe. However, so far, only a
limited number of algae are considered edible according to
EU legislation which hampers the inclusion of other valuable
species in any food-related industry (Abreu et al. 2014). In
fact, macroalgae are known to be a valuable source of
*Sónia A. O. Santos
santos.sonia@ua.pt
1
CICECO-Aveiro Institute of Materials, Department of Chemistry,
University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal
2
ALGAplus-Prod e comerc. de algas e seus derivados, Lda.,
3830-196 Ilhavo, Portugal
3
QOPNA, Department of Chemistry, University of Aveiro,
3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal
J Appl Phycol (2016) 28:3151–3158
DOI 10.1007/s10811-016-0855-y
Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved.
... The marine environment is known for its biodiversity and for being a source of more than 25,000 natural products [1]. Among photosynthetic organisms that inhabit aquatic ecosystems are macroalgae, which can be divided into green, brown, and red algae depending on morphological and biochemical aspects [2,3]. Given their biological, chemical, and breeding properties, seaweeds are becoming increasingly important marine resources. ...
... The high degree of adaptation of macroalgae allows these organisms to inhabit many environments, running the gamut of tropical, subtropical, temperate and polar regions [4,6,7]. In complex habitats that include the Antarctic Peninsula, seaweeds are subjected to several abiotic parameters, such as low water temperature, restricted nutrient availability, high exposure to ultraviolet radiation, limited photoperiod, and high water salinity [3,8]. These extreme environmental conditions cause aquatic organisms to develop defense and survival strategies, including activation of biochemical processes related to the production of metabolites [9]. ...
... Secondary metabolites found in aquatic ecosystems have unique structural and chemical moieties that are not commonly found in natural products from terrestrial plants [1]. According to previous reports, approximately 15,000 secondary metabolites have been identified in macroalgae, including, for instance, fatty acids (FAs), sterols, polysaccharides, amino acids, flavonoids, and terpenoids [3,8]. In this sense, Responsible Editor: Ernani Pinto * Claudio M. P. de Pereira lahbbioufpel@gmail.com ...
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  • Apr 2014
The potential of compressed CO2 for the extraction of valuable compounds (fatty acids, phenolic compounds and fucoxanthin) from the brown alga, Sargassum muticum, has been explored. Pure supercritical CO2 (scCO2) allowed the extraction of up to 15 % of the ethanol extractables, with the highest yield attained at 10 MPa and 50 °C. The addition of ethanol as cosolvent increased by three both the extraction yields and the radical scavenging activity, and by 90 times the fucoxanthin yield. The extracts obtained with pure carbon dioxide contained higher proportion of ω3 fatty acids than those using with conventional solvents, showing an ω6/ω3 ratio of 2.12 and 2.84 for pure and ethanol modified scCO2, respectively. Selected extracts showed antibrowning activity on B16F10 murine cells and inhibition of lipogenesis in SW872 liposarcoma cells, although cytotoxic effects were observed at 50 μg mL−1.
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Fatty acid profile of different species of algae of the Cystoseira genus: A nutraceutical perspective
Article
  • Jan 2015
The fatty acid (FA) composition of six macroalgae from the Cystoseira genus, namely Cystoseira compressa, Cystoseira humilis, Cystoseira tamariscifolia, Cystoseira nodicaulis, Cystoseira baccata and Cystoseira barbata, was determined. Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) corresponded to 29-46% of the total FA detected. C. compressa, C. tamariscifolia and C. nodicaulis stood out for their low PUFA/saturated fatty acid, low n-6 PUFA/n-3 PUFA ratios as well as favourable unsaturation, atherogenicity and thrombogenicity indices, suggesting a high nutritional value with potential applications in the nutraceutical industry.
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