Abstract
Microalgae are known as a producer of proteins and lipids, but also of valuable compounds for human health benefits (e.g., polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs); minerals, vitamins, or other compounds). The overall objective of this research was to prospect novel products, such as nutraceuticals from microalgae, for application in human health, particularly for metabolic diseases. Chlorella vulgaris and Chlorococcum amblystomatis were grown autotrophically, and C. vulgaris was additionally grown heterotrophically. Microalgae biomass was extracted using organic solvents (dichloromethane, ethanol, ethanol with ultrasound-assisted extraction). Those extracts were evaluated for their bioactivities, toxicity, and metabolite profile. Some of the extracts reduced the neutral lipid content using the zebrafish larvae fat metabolism assay, reduced lipid accumulation in fatty-acid-overloaded HepG2 liver cells, or decreased the LPS-induced inflammation reaction in RAW264.7 macrophages. Toxicity was not observed in the MTT assay in vitro or by the appearance of lethality or malformations in zebrafish larvae in vivo. Differences in metabolite profiles of microalgae extracts obtained by UPLC-LC-MS/MS and GNPS analyses revealed unique compounds in the active extracts, whose majority did not have a match in mass spectrometry databases and could be potentially novel compounds. In conclusion, microalgae extracts demonstrated anti-obesity, anti-steatosis, and anti-inflammatory activities and could be valuable resources for developing future nutraceuticals. In particular, the ultrasound-assisted ethanolic extract of the heterotrophic C. vulgaris significantly enhanced the anti-obesity activity and demonstrated that the alteration of culture conditions is a valuable approach to increase the production of high-value compounds.
Highlights
Obesity, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), is defined as an abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that may impair health, reduce well-being, and increase morbidity and mortality
No toxicity orSeven visible was detected during the assays, assuming the (DMSO)
To the best of our knowledge, this assay was not yet employed in microalgae extracts, and we report, for the first time, strong bioactivity for heterotrophic Chlorella vulgaris extracted with ethanol and ultrasound-assisted extraction, which reduced 70% of neutral lipids in the zebrafish larvae
Summary
Obesity, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), is defined as an abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that may impair health, reduce well-being, and increase morbidity and mortality. Nowadays, it is considered a global epidemic, leading to more than 2.8 million deaths per year. The excessive accumulation of fat tissue accompanied by mild chronic inflammation of the tissue defines obese individuals [2]. Obesity is correlated with an exponential increase of metabolic syndrome (MetS) [3], leading to type 2 diabetes, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), cardiovascular diseases, cancer, musculoskeletal diseases (e.g., arthritis), sleep apnea, respiratory conditions (such as asthma), and others. NAFLD presents liver steatosis in the absence of alcohol abuse and is closely linked to metabolic syndrome [5]
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