Bioactive Polysaccharides from Microalgae: A Close Look at the Biomedical Applications.

There is a current tendency towards bioactive natural products that can be used in different areas such as food, pharmaceutical, and biomedical. In the last decades, polysaccharides have attracted increasing interest because of their potent nontoxic effects, therapeutic properties, and diversified range of applications. Polysaccharides are complex and heterogeneous macromolecules constituted of different monosaccharides and, in some cases, of glucuronic acid and sulphate groups.

Microalgae-derived polysaccharides: Potential building blocks for biomedical applications.

In recent years, the increasing concern about human health well-being has strongly boosted the search for natural alternatives that can be used in different fields, especially in biomedicine. This has put microalgae-based products in evidence since they contain many bioactive compounds, of which polysaccharides are attractive due to the diverse physicochemical properties and new or improved biological roles they play. Polysaccharides from microalgae, specially exopolysaccharides, are critically important for market purposes because they can be used as anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, anti-glycemic, antitumor, antioxidant, anticoagulant, antilipidemic, antiviral, antibacterial, and antifungal agents.

Accomplished High-Resolution Metabolomic and Molecular Studies Identify New Carotenoid Biosynthetic Reactions in Cyanobacteria.

Cyanobacteria and microalgae are characterized by a rich and varied profile of chlorophyll (8-20 mg/g) and carotenoid (>2.2 mg/g) pigments, being noteworthy material for natural pigment production in the food industry. We propose a systematic workflow that uses high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled with high-resolution tandem mass spectrometry in a broadband collision-induced dissociation mode (bbCID) acquisition mode to simultaneously obtain MS and MS spectra.

Chlorophyll Oxidative Metabolism During the Phototrophic and Heterotrophic Growth of .

Different cultivation strategies have been developed with the aim of increasing the production rate of microalgal pigments. Specifically, biotechnological approaches are designed to increase antioxidant metabolites as chlorophyll and carotenoids. However, although significant advances have been built up, available information regarding both the chlorophyll metabolism and their oxidative reactions in photobioreactors is scarce.

Insights in cyanobacteria lipidomics: A sterols characterization from Phormidium autumnale biomass in heterotrophic cultivation.

Sterol profiles were obtained from cyanobacteria Phormidium autumnale, cultivated in a heterotrophic system using three distinct sources of carbon: glucose, sucrose, and agroindustrial slaughterhouse wastewater. A simultaneous saponification-extraction ultrasound-assisted method was performed to determine sterol and other non-saponified compounds in the dry biomasses. A total of 24 compounds were observed in the biomasses, including hope-22,29-en-3-one, squalene, and 22 other sterols.

Scenedesmus obliquus metabolomics: effect of photoperiods and cell growth phases.

Environmental factors directly affect the growth and composition of microalgal biomass. Therefore, the present work analyzed the metabolomics (amino acids, organic acids, and fatty acids) of the microalga Scenedesmus obliquus cultivated in 24:0 and 12:12 (light:dark) photoperiods and different phases of cell growth. Furthermore, the metabolites were related to protein, lipid, and chlorophyll contents at the end of cultivation.

Polar and non-polar intracellular compounds from microalgae: Methods of simultaneous extraction, gas chromatography determination and comparative analysis.

A method to simultaneously extract polar (PC) and non-polar compounds (NPC) from microalgae was developed for further determination of intracellular metabolites by gas chromatography. The proposed method was validated and used to characterize two Chlorophyceae, Chlorella vulgaris and Scenedesmus obliquus, and two Cyanobacteria, Aphanothece microscopica Nagëli and Phormidium autumnale. The compounds were extracted with a reduced amount of organic solvent mixture (methanol-chloroform), compared to the reference method, under different conditions of homogenization and/or cell disruption.

The role of photoperiods on photobioreactors - A potential strategy to reduce costs.

The aim of this work was evaluate the role of photoperiods (long-term, frequencies and short) on the growth and lipid content of microalgae Scenedesmus obliquus CPCC05. The results showed that Scenedesmus obliquus can store sufficient energy to sustain cell growth for continuous periods of up to 2h in the dark, without affecting the photosynthetic rate. The values for maximum biomass (9.