Abstract
Brown seaweeds are known to present components with appealing bioactive properties eliciting great interest for industrial applications. However, their lipid content is generally disregarded beyond their fatty acid (FA) composition. This study thoroughly characterized the lipid profile of two brown seaweeds collected from Portuguese coast, the native Bifurcaria bifurcata and the invasive Sargassum muticum species, and bioprospecting for antioxidant activity. An integrated state-of-the-art approach including gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC–MS) and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (HILIC–ESI-MS/MS), allowed a comprehensive picture of FA and polar lipid content. Polar lipid profile of B. bifurcata and S. muticum included 143 and 217 lipid species respectively, distributed between glycolipids, phospholipids, and betaine lipids. Some of the lipid species found have been assigned biological activity and contain of n-3 and n-6 FA. Sargassum muticum presented the highest n-3 FA content. Low concentrations of extracts of both seaweeds displayed antioxidant activity, with S. muticum presenting more promising results. These findings contribute to the nutritional and industrial exploitation of both seaweeds, highlighting their relevance as viable sources of bioactive and added-value compounds. Sargassum muticum presented interesting lipid composition and bioactivity, which may represent an accessible opportunity for the exploitation of this invasive seaweed, especially taking advantage of Sargassum blooms.
Highlights
Over the last decades consumer priority turned its focus to lifestyle, healthiness, and well-being, without neglecting environmental and sustainability concerns [1]
Bifurcaria bifurcata presented a total of 0.12 ± 0.03 g/100 g1 of PL and
We explored the antioxidant activity of lipid extracts from both seaweeds, fostering their valorization
Summary
Over the last decades consumer priority turned its focus to lifestyle, healthiness, and well-being, without neglecting environmental and sustainability concerns [1]. These concerns, along with the increasing demand for natural compounds and functional foods, justified a new look at the composition of seaweeds, since it is well recognized that these marine resources are a natural and sustainable source of natural compounds [2,3]. In 2018 the total amount of S. muticum biomass was estimated to attain a whopping amount of 20 million tones, impacting activities like sailing or fishing and causing great environmental disturbances in beaches and reef lagoons [9,10]
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