Abstract
Microalgae are natural sources of valuable bioactive compounds, such as polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), that show antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer and antimicrobial activities. The marine microalga Isochrysis galbana (I. galbana) is extremely rich in ω3 PUFAs, mainly eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Probiotics are currently suggested as adjuvant therapy in the management of diseases associated with gut dysbiosis. The Lactobacillus reuteri (L. reuteri), one of the most widely used probiotics, has been shown to produce multiple beneficial effects on host health. The present study aimed to present an innovative method for growing the probiotic L. reuteri in the raw seaweed extracts from I. galbana as an alternative to the conventional medium, under conditions of oxygen deprivation (anaerobiosis). As a result, the microalga I. galbana was shown for the first time to be an excellent culture medium for growing L. reuteri. Furthermore, the gas-chromatography mass-spectrometry analysis showed that the microalga-derived ω3 PUFAs were still available after the fermentation by L. reuteri. Accordingly, the fermented compound (FC), obtained from the growth of L. reuteri in I. galbana in anaerobiosis, was able to significantly reduce the adhesiveness and invasiveness of the harmful adherent-invasive Escherichia coli to intestinal epithelial cells, due to a cooperative effect between L. reuteri and microalgae-released ω3 PUFAs. These findings open new perspectives in the use of unicellular microalgae as growth medium for probiotics and in the production of biofunctional compounds.
Highlights
Nutritious and sustainable foods with a low impact on the environment, economy and society represent today a global challenge
The probiotic L. reuteri was inoculated at a concentration of 2 × 106 CFU/ml in physiological solution containing I. galbana (36 mg/ml) or commercial medium (MRS) and placed at 37 °C in anaerobiosis
The Gas‐chromatography mass‐spectrometry (GC–MS) lipidomic analysis of I. galbana confirmed that the microalga was rich in ω3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), especially in docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)
Summary
Nutritious and sustainable foods with a low impact on the environment, economy and society represent today a global challenge. Microalgal lipids comprising of ω3 PUFAs, mainly eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, 20:5 ω3) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6 ω3), give microalgae a high added value for their effectiveness in the treatment of several disorders, such as cardiovascular syndromes, diabetic disease, Alzheimer’s disease, growth and brain development of infants and c ancer[8,9]. The marine microalga Isochrysis galbana (I. galbana), extremely rich in EPA and DHA, is a valuable source for human and animal nutrition and represents a potentially promising therapeutic tool for the management of several d iseases[11,12,13,14,15,16]. Lactobacillus reuteri (L. reuteri), a commensal-derived anaerobic probiotic that resides in the human gastrointestinal tract, is one of the most widely used probiotics showing multiple beneficial effects on host health[21,22,23,24]. Reuteri in controlling the growth and survival of pathobionts correlated with infectious or chronic gastrointestinal diseases, such as the adherent-invasive Escherichia coli (AIEC)[25,26]
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