Mycosporine-Like Amino Acids (MAAs) Profile of Two Marine Red Macroalgae, Gelidium sp. and Ceramium sp.

- Rajneesh Rajneesh,Abha Pandey,Haseen Ahmed,Jainendra Pathak,Rajeshwar P Sinha,Shailendra P Singh,Shruti Pandey,Vidya Singh

doi:10.3126/ijasbt.v5i1.16568

Abstract

Macroalgae have evolved different strategies to mitigate the damaging effects of solar ultraviolet radiation (UVR), including accumulation of photoprotective compounds such as mycosporine-like amino acids (MAAs). MAAs are secondary metabolites, synthesized by a large variety of organisms including macroalgae, phytoplanktons, cyanobacteria, lichen, fungi and some marine animals. MAAs act as photoprotectants and antioxidants. In the present investigation, MAAs profile of methanolic extracts of two marine red algae Gelidium sp. and Ceramium sp., collected from their natural environment, was studied. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and UV-Vis spectrometry analyses were used to reveal different MAAs profile in the extracts obtained from these two red algae. The MAAs isolated by HPLC were identified as shinorine (λmax= 333.5 nm), porphyra-334 (λmax=332.3 nm) and palythine (λmax=317.9 nm) having retention times (RT) 1.26, 2.12 and 3.64 min, respectively, in the extract obtained from Gelidium sp. Similarly, shinorine (λmax=332.3 nm), porphyra-334 (λmax=333.5 nm) and palythinol (λmax=332.5 nm) with RT 1.27, 2.13 and 4.61 min, respectively, were identified in the extract obtained from Ceramium sp. This study revealed that Gelidium sp. and Ceramium sp. could serve as potential source for economical exploration of MAAs in pharmaceutical sciences.Int. J. Appl. Sci. Biotechnol. Vol 5(1): 12-21

Highlights

The continuous accumulation of anthropogenically released atmospheric pollutants, such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), chlorocarbons (CCs), organobromides (OBs) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS) including nitric oxide (NO), nitrous oxide (N2O) and peroxynitrite (ONOO) in the stratosphere has resulted in the depletion of ozone layer which provides shield against ultraviolet radiation (UVR; 100-400 nm) (Crutzen, 1992; Lubin and Jensen, 1995; Ravishankara et al, 2009)
The present study investigated the presence of photoprotective compound, i.e., mycosporine-like amino acids (MAAs) in two red algae Gelidium sp. and Ceramium sp. by spectroscopic analysis
Spectroscopic Analysis The absorption spectra of methanolic extracts of both red algae showed a peak between 300-350 nm, which suggested the presence of MAAs in these organisms

Summary

Introduction

The continuous accumulation of anthropogenically released atmospheric pollutants, such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), chlorocarbons (CCs), organobromides (OBs) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS) including nitric oxide (NO), nitrous oxide (N2O) and peroxynitrite (ONOO) in the stratosphere has resulted in the depletion of ozone layer which provides shield against ultraviolet radiation (UVR; 100-400 nm) (Crutzen, 1992; Lubin and Jensen, 1995; Ravishankara et al, 2009). The decreased density of ozone layer results in increased intensity of harmful ultraviolet-B radiation (UV-B; 280315 nm) reaching on the Earth's surface (Hofmann and Deshler, 1991; Madronich et al, 1998; Sahoo et al, 2005). UVR may reach upto 70 meter into sea water column depending on the organic matter, flora and fauna of aquatic ecosystems, and can negatively affect the benthic photosynthesizers including cyanobacteria, phytoplankton and macroalgae (Smith et al, 1992; Häder et al, 2007). UVR has the potential to exert deleterious effects on photosynthetic terrestrial and aquatic organisms, thereby affecting the productivity of ecosystems (Karentz et al, 1991a; Vincent and Roy, 1993; Williamson, 1995; Sinha and Häder, 1996)

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