Abstract
Microalgal biotechnology is gaining importance. However, key issues in the pipeline from species selection towards large biomass production still require improvements to maximize the yield and lower the microalgal production costs. This study explores a co-cultivation strategy to improve the bioactive compounds richness of the harvested microalgal biomass. Based on their biotechnological potential, two diatoms (Skeletonema marinoi, Cyclotella cryptica) and one eustigmatophyte (Nannochloropsis oceanica) were grown alone or in combination. Concentrations of ten vitamins (A, B1, B2, B6, B12, C, D2, D3, E and H), carotenoids and polyphenols, together with total flavonoids, sterols, lipids, proteins and carbohydrates, were compared. Moreover, antioxidant capacity and chemopreventive potential in terms inhibiting four human tumor-derived and normal cell lines proliferation were evaluated. Co-cultivation can engender biomass with emergent properties regarding bioactivity or bioactive chemical profile, depending on the combined species. The high vitamin content of C. cryptica or N. oceanica further enhanced (until 10% more) when co-cultivated, explaining the two-fold increase of the antioxidant capacity of the combined C. cryptica and N. oceanica biomass. Differently, the chemopreventive activity was valuably enhanced when coupling the two diatoms C. cryptica and S. marinoi. The results obtained in this pilot study promote microalgal co-cultivation as a valuable strategy aiming to boost their application in eco-sustainable biotechnology.
Highlights
Microalgae are undoubtedly part of the future of eco-sustainable biotechnology, as a resource or source of biomass for the production of nutraceuticals or cosmeceuticals, as well as for processes related to wastewater treatments or bioenergy [1]
The high vitamin content detected in C. cryptica and N. oceanica is enhanced by 10% when these two species are coupled, further increasing the antioxidant capacity of the biomass
The antioxidant property enhancement leads to a significant increase in the antiproliferative capacity against the three cancer cell lines tested
Summary
Microalgae are undoubtedly part of the future of eco-sustainable biotechnology, as a resource or source of biomass for the production of nutraceuticals or cosmeceuticals, as well as for processes related to wastewater treatments or bioenergy [1]. The same biological and ecological properties allowing them to be widespread microbes in all the aquatic environments [2,3], can be exploited in the biotechnological sector. Their small size determines a lower resource requirement compared to higher plants, while their unicellular nature makes them appealing for efficient large-scale production processes, being unnecessary the separation from waste and recalcitrant matter. The promises—and premises—of microalgal biotechnology extending in different fields, the economic feasibility constitutes the main drawback of large-scale production [9–11].
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