Lipidomic Signatures Reveal Seasonal Shifts on the Relative Abundance of High-Valued Lipids from the Brown Algae Fucus vesiculosus.

Elisabete Da Costa,Ricardo Calado,Maria H Abreu,M Rosário Domingues,Rui Pereira,Tânia Melo,Elisabete Coelho,Pedro Domingues

doi:10.3390/md17060335

Elisabete Da Costa, Ricardo Calado + Show 6 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/md17060335

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Abstract

Fucus vesiculosus is an edible brown macroalga, with health benefits associated with its consumption and also a source of bioactive molecules. It is acknowledged that the biochemical composition of macroalgae changes when exposed to different environmental conditions occurring on different habitats, such as the water temperature, and light intensity. In the present study, the polar lipidome of Fucus vesiculosus was characterized for the first time using modern high-resolution HILIC–MS, and MS/MS approaches, to evaluate the phenotypic variability in two seasons of the year, e.g., winter and spring. A total of 187 molecular species were identified over eighteen classes of glycolipids, phospholipids and betaine lipids. Principal component analysis (PCA) multivariate statistical analysis and cluster analysis of polar lipid classes, polar lipid species and total fatty acids (FA) datasets, showed clustering according to the seasonal groups. While the lipid profile of Fucus vesiculosus harvested in the winter and spring yielded the same molecular species, the relative abundance of these species was significantly different. In the winter, changes were mainly due to the increased relative abundance of some molecular species of glycolipids and phospholipids, bearing octadeca(poly)enoic (18:3, 18:4) and eicosa(poly)enoic (20:4, 20:5) FA and betaine lipids species with short saturated FA (14:0) and polyunsaturated FA (PUFA). Importantly, glycolipids with n-3 PUFA and sulfolipids, have been reported to have important biological activities and therapeutic value. Overall, Fucus vesiculosus is a promising source of bioactive compounds that can be used as functional food or ingredients for human nutrition, feed, pharma, and cosmetic formulations. In this study, samples harvested in the winter season maximized yields of these bioactive components, when compared with samples harvested in the spring.

Highlights

The Fucus vesiculosus Linnaeus (1753), popularly known as bladderwrack, is an edible brown macroalga (Ochrophyta, Phaeophyceae) that is commonly present on the middle shores of the westernMar
We identified the lipidome of F. vesiculosus by using hydrophilic interaction chromatography (HILIC)–LC coupled with high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) and evaluated the effects of seasonal variation, e.g., to winter versus spring seasons, on the lipidome
A significant difference was observed in the total lipid extract recovery depending on the season (*, p < 0.05), with a higher yield observed in the winter season

Summary

Introduction

The Fucus vesiculosus Linnaeus (1753), popularly known as bladderwrack, is an edible brown macroalga (Ochrophyta, Phaeophyceae) that is commonly present on the middle shores of the westernMar. Baltic Sea, Atlantic coasts of North America, Europe, and Western Mediterranean [1,2] This macroalga has been used for food and feed in Europe since the 17th century, as well as in traditional medicine in China [3]. It is currently used as a raw material for various industries, targeting food processing, the development of new pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, along with other new products to high-end markets [4–7]. The culture of this macroalga is attracting a growing interest in Europe, mainly due to its effect on reducing the environmental impact of intensive agriculture and fish aquaculture and eutrophication [8–10]. The production of Fucus vesiculosus using land-based integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) is considered a sustainable alternative to producing this macroalga [11]

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