Pigment Composition of Nine Brown Algae from the Iberian Northwestern Coastline: Influence of the Extraction Solvent.

Pascual Garcia-Perez,Catarina Lourenço-Lopes,Jianbo Xiao,Miguel Prieto,Antia Pereira,Aurora Silva,Jesus Simal-Gandara,Chao Zhao,Maria Fraga-Corral

doi:10.3390/md20020113

Abstract

Brown algae are ubiquitously distributed in the NW coastline of the Iberian Peninsula, where they stand as an underexploited resource. In this study, five solvents were applied to the extraction of pigments from nine brown algae, followed by their determination and quantification by HPLC-DAD. A total of 13 compounds were detected: Six were identified as chlorophylls, six were classified as xanthophylls, and one compound was reported as a carotene. Fucoxanthin was reported in all extracts, which is the most prominent pigment of these algae. Among them, L. saccharina and U. pinnatifida present the highest concentration of fucoxanthin (4.5–4.7 mg∙g−1 dry weight). Ethanol and acetone were revealed as the most efficient solvents for the extraction of pigments, showing a maximal value of 11.9 mg of total pigments per gram of dry alga obtained from the ethanolic extracts of H. elongata, followed by the acetonic extracts of L. ochroleuca. Indeed, ethanol was also revealed as the most efficient solvent according to its high extraction yield along all species evaluated. Our results supply insights into the pigment composition of brown algae, opening new perspectives on their commercial exploitation by food, pharmaceutical, and cosmeceutical industries.

Highlights

IntroductionWhile plants have been thoroughly employed for multiple applications by a wide range of industrial sectors, seaweeds are still considered an underexploited natural resource in Western countries [2]
As reported in all species, the greatest yields were obtained for ethanolic extracts, and Undaria pinnatifida (UP) is the seaweed showing the highest value, 38.8%, followed by Bifurcaria bifurcata (BB) and Himanthalia elongata (HE), ranging 24–27%, respectively (Table 1)
Extraction yields decreased while decreasing the polarity of solvents, reporting the lowest values in the cases of ethyl acetate and hexane-based extracts. These results make sense since the proportion of hydrophobic constituents in brown algae is quite low; the efficiency of less polar solvents was already expected to be lower, as proved by the present experimental data. These results show that ethanol is a very efficient solvent to be used in the extraction of algal samples, as it can dissolve a heterogeneous range of chemical components

Summary

Introduction

While plants have been thoroughly employed for multiple applications by a wide range of industrial sectors, seaweeds are still considered an underexploited natural resource in Western countries [2]. In this regard, greater efforts are underway by facing the introduction of algal products in these countries, based on their reported health benefits, wellness and gastronomic properties [3]. Greater efforts are underway by facing the introduction of algal products in these countries, based on their reported health benefits, wellness and gastronomic properties [3] Such bioactive features have raised the interest in the 4.0/). As a matter of fact, the chemical composition of seaweeds is highly different among phyla, especially pigments, but there are additional factors that play a significant role in the production of these compounds, such as seasonality, geographical area of harvesting and other environmental factors [5,6]

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