Abstract
Several echinoderms, including sea urchins, are valuable sources of bioactive compounds but their nutraceutical potential is largely unexplored. In fact, the gonads of some sea urchin species contain antioxidants including carotenoids and polyhydroxylated naphthoquinones (PHNQ’s), such as echinochrome A. Astaxanthin is known to have particular bioactivity for the prevention of neurodegenerative diseases. This carotenoid is produced by microalgae, while several marine invertebrates can bioaccumulate or synthetize it from metabolic precursors. We determined the carotenoid content and analyzed the bioactivity potential of non-harvested Atlantic-Mediterranean sea urchin Arbacia lixula. The comparison of methanol crude extracts obtained from eggs of farmed and wild specimens revealed a higher bioactivity in farmed individuals fed with a customized fodder. HPLC-analysis revealed a high concentration of astaxanthin (27.0 μg/mg), which was the only pigment observed. This study highlights the potential of farmed A. lixula as a new source of the active stereoisomer of astaxanthin.
Highlights
Carotenoids are naturally occurring pigments widely distributed among photosynthetic organisms, bacteria, and fungi
Spirulina platensis has been proved to be a valuable source of carotenoids enhancing the pigmentation in fish [41,42,43,44] and shrimps [45,46], and its inclusion in broodstock diet is recommended to avoid carotenoid deficiency-related problems in shrimp hatcheries [47]. β-Carotene and zeaxanthin, the main carotenoids determined in S. platensis, corn, and Ulva lactuca [48], are among the reported astaxanthin precursors in animal metabolic pathways [49]
Our results demonstrated the double advantage of improving both the available biomass and the concentration of natural astaxanthin in A. lixula eggs
Summary
Carotenoids are naturally occurring pigments widely distributed among photosynthetic organisms, bacteria, and fungi. High carotenoid concentrations occasionally found in the reproductive organs of animals suggest that they could have a role in the reproductive process [3,4]. There is increasing evidence that sea urchins, together with other echinoderms, may represent potential sources of valuable bioactive compounds [5,6,7,8,9,10,11]. Their biotechnological potential remains largely unexplored, and research in this area is still a niche topic [12], in Mediterranean species. Studies conducted on the gonads of some species of sea urchin revealed powerful antioxidant activity due to the presence
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