Chemical characterization and antioxidant potential of volatile oil from an edible seaweed Porphyra tenera (Kjellman, 1897)

Jayanta Kumar Patra,Kwang-Hyun Baek,Yong-Suk Kwon,Jae Gyu Park,Se-Weon Lee

doi:10.1186/s13065-017-0259-3

Abstract

BackgroundPorphyra tenera (Kjellman, 1897) is the most common eatable red seaweed in Asia. In the present study, P. tenera volatile oil (PTVO) was extracted from dried P. tenera sheets that were used as food by the microwave hydrodistillation procedure, after which the characterization of its chemical constituents was done by gas chromatography and mass spectroscopy and its antioxidant potential was evaluated by a number of in vitro biochemical assays such as 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging, nitric oxide (NO) scavenging, superoxide radical scavenging, 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS) radical scavenging, hydroxyl radical scavenging and reducing power assay and inhibition of lipid peroxidation.ResultsA total of 30 volatile compounds comprising about 99.4% of the total volume were identified, of which trans-beta-ionone (20.9%), hexadecanoic acid (9.2%) and 2,6-nonadienal (8.7%) were present in higher quantities. PTVO exhibited strong free radical scavenging activity by DPPH scavenging (44.62%), NO scavenging (28.45%) and superoxide scavenging (54.27%) at 500 µg/mL. Similarly, it displayed strong ABTS radical scavenging (IC50 value of 177.83 µg/mL), hydroxyl radical scavenging (IC50 value of 109.70 µg/mL), and moderate lipid peroxidation inhibition activity (IC50 value of 231.80 µg/mL) and reducing power (IC0.5 value of 126.58 µg/mL). PTVO exhibited strong antioxidant potential in a concentration dependent manner and the results were comparable with the BHT and α-tocopherol, taken as the reference standard compounds (positive controls).ConclusionsTaken together, PTVO with potential bioactive chemical compounds and strong antioxidant activity could be utilized in the cosmetic industries for making antioxidant rich anti-aging and sun-screen lotion and in the food sector industries as food additives and preservatives.

Highlights

Porphyra tenera (Kjellman, 1897) is the most common eatable red seaweed in Asia
Chemical analysis Volatile oils with a clear yellow color were obtained by the hydrodistillation of a red seaweed, P. tenera, with a yield percent of 1.41%
The P. tenera volatile oil (PTVO) obtained were analyzed for their chemical constituents by gas chromatography–mass spectroscopy (GC–MS) analysis and the results were presented in Table 1 and Fig. 1

Summary

Introduction

Porphyra tenera (Kjellman, 1897) is the most common eatable red seaweed in Asia. In the present study, P. tenera volatile oil (PTVO) was extracted from dried P. tenera sheets that were used as food by the microwave hydro‐ distillation procedure, after which the characterization of its chemical constituents was done by gas chromatography and mass spectroscopy and its antioxidant potential was evaluated by a number of in vitro biochemical assays such as 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging, nitric oxide (NO) scavenging, superoxide radical scav‐ enging, 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS) radical scavenging, hydroxyl radical scavenging and reducing power assay and inhibition of lipid peroxidation. The oxidation of lipids is one of the most important factors that affects and deteriorates the quality of food. The use of synthetic antioxidants has recently been restricted because of their health risks and toxicities [9]. Synthetic antioxidants such as α-tocopherol and BHT have been reported to be ineffective against the oxidative deterioration in complex food systems such as muscle foods, where both heme proteins and lipoxygenase enzyme are involved in instigation of the oxidation reaction [10]. A number of studies have focused on the use of natural antioxidants from terrestrial plants in food systems to prevent the damage caused by the ROS [12]. Many plants and their products have been investigated as natural antioxidants and for their potential for use in nontoxic and consumer friendly products

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