Abstract
The marine environment supports a remarkable diversity of organisms which are a potential source of natural products with biological activities. These organisms include a wide variety of marine plants (from micro- to macrophytes), which have been used in the food and pharmaceutical industry. However, the biochemistry and biological activities of many of these macrophytes (namely macroalgae and halophytes, including seagrasses) are still far from being fully explored. Most popular bioactive components include polysaccharides, peptides, phenolics and fatty acids (FAs). Polar lipids (glycolipids, phospholipids and betaine lipids) are emerging as novel value-added bioactive phytochemicals, rich in n-3 FA, with high nutritional value and health beneficial effects for the prevention of chronic diseases. Polar lipids account various combinations of polar groups, fatty acyl chains and backbone structures. The polar lipidome of macrophytes is remarkably diverse, and its screening represents a significant analytical challenge. Modern research platforms, particularly mass spectrometry (MS)-based lipidomic approaches, have been recently used to address this challenge and are here reviewed. The application of lipidomics to address lipid composition of marine macrophytes will contribute to the stimulation of further research on this group and foster the exploration of novel applications.
Highlights
The marine environment provides a wide range of habitats that supports a remarkable biodiversity.Marine life is represented by a huge diversity of organisms with unique chemical compounds that exhibit multiple and interesting bioactivities [1], and hold great potential to be used as high value-added ingredients and/or as bioactive compounds
Results showed that the macroalgal matrix, the extraction method and the buffer were paramount for lipid recoveries and should be adapted according to the desired purposes; all extraction protocols allowed for the obtaining of lipid extracts, but the buffered solvent system seemed to be more efficient for macroalgae lipid research
These techniques allow the screening of polar lipid classes and fatty acid profiles, as exemplified in several studies addressing the lipidome of marine macrophytes [21,30,34,38,61,63,95]
Summary
The marine environment provides a wide range of habitats that supports a remarkable biodiversity. Marine life is represented by a huge diversity of organisms with unique chemical compounds that exhibit multiple and interesting bioactivities [1], and hold great potential to be used as high value-added ingredients and/or as bioactive compounds These organisms include a wide diversity of marine plants, from micro- to macrophytes. Drugs 2016, 14, x of new products for industrial and health applications [2] This potential has prompted researchers to consider them as a widely untapped of biochemical diversity. This gap of knowledge may be due to the complexity of this topic, as the lipidome comprises several order to truly unravel the lipidome of marine macrophytes, it is essential to employ state‐of‐the‐art distinct classes of lipids, such as triglycerides, sterols, phospholipids, glycolipids, among others.
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