Abstract
Background: Natural antioxidants, which can replace synthetic ones due to their potential implications for health problems in children, have gained significant popularity. Therefore, the antioxidant potential of extracts obtained from three brown macroalgae (Ascophyllum nodosum, Fucus vesiculosus and Bifurcaria bifurcata) and two microalgae (Chlorella vulgaris and Spirulina platensis) using ultrasound-extraction as an innovative and green approach was evaluated. Methods: Algal extracts were obtained by ultrasound-assisted extraction using water/ethanol (50:50, v:v) as the extraction solvent. The different extracts were compared based on their antioxidant potential, measuring the extraction yield, the total phenolic content (TPC) and the antioxidant activity. Results: Extracts from Ascophyllum nodosum (AN) and Bifurcaria bifurcata (BB) showed the highest antioxidant potential compared to the rest of the samples. In particular, BB extract presented the highest extraction (35.85 g extract/100 g dry weight (DW)) and total phenolic compounds (TPC) (5.74 g phloroglucinol equivalents (PGE)/100 g DW) yields. Regarding the antioxidant activity, macroalgae showed again higher values than microalgae. BB extract had the highest antioxidant activity in the ORAC, DPPH and FRAP assays, with 556.20, 144.65 and 66.50 µmol Trolox equivalents (TE)/g DW, respectively. In addition, a correlation among the antioxidant activity and the TPC was noted. Conclusions: Within the obtained extracts, macroalgae, and in particular BB, are more suitable to be used as sources of phenolic antioxidants to be included in products for human consumption. The relatively low antioxidant potential, in terms of polyphenols, of the microalgae extracts studied in the present work makes them useless for possible industrial applications compared to macroalgae, although further in vivo studies evaluating the real impact of antioxidants from both macro- and micro-algae at the cellular level should be conducted.
Highlights
Free radicals may produce damage to lipids, proteins, cell membranes and nucleic acids, promoting the development of noncommunicable diseases [1]
The aim of this work was to evaluate the potential use of Ascophyllum nodosum (AN), Fucus vesiculosus (FV) and Bifurcaria bifurcata (BB) macroalgae extracts and Chlorella vulgaris (CV) and Spirulina platensis (SP) microalgae extracts as antioxidants for the possible application in products intended to be used for human consumption
AN and BB macroalgae showed higher extraction yields compared to FV and microalgae species
Summary
Free radicals may produce damage to lipids, proteins, cell membranes and nucleic acids, promoting the development of noncommunicable diseases [1]. Brown seaweed species are rich in antioxidant polyphenols (from 1–14% dry solid), Ascophyllum and Fucus being two genera with the highest content [5]. Brown algae are rich in phlorotannins [5], polyphenols with multiple phenolic groups, which provide good antioxidant activities [7]. These compounds are exclusively from brown algae species [8,9]. The antioxidant potential of extracts obtained from three brown macroalgae (Ascophyllum nodosum, Fucus vesiculosus and Bifurcaria bifurcata) and two microalgae (Chlorella vulgaris and Spirulina platensis) using ultrasound-extraction as an innovative and green approach was evaluated. BB extract had the highest antioxidant activity in the ORAC, DPPH and FRAP assays, with 556.20, 144.65 and 66.50 μmol Trolox equivalents (TE)/g DW, respectively
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