Evaluation of Moroccan microalgae: Spirulina platensis as a potential source of natural antioxidants

Abstract

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:sec id="j_jcim-2019-0036_s_001m_w2aab3b7b1b1b6b1aab1c12b1Aa"><jats:title>Background</jats:title><jats:p>Ethanolic, aqueous and lipidic extracts of <jats:italic>Spirulina platensis</jats:italic> were evaluated for their bioactive substances (polyphenols and fatty acids) and antioxidant activities using two different assays diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and azino-bis (ethylbenzthiazoline-6- sulfonicacid (ABTS)).</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec id="j_jcim-2019-0036_s_002b_w2aab3b7b1b1b6b1aab1c12b2Aa"><jats:title>Methods</jats:title><jats:p>The phenolic compounds amounts were determined by colorimetric assays and were analyzed by high-performance and liquid chromatography (HPLC) method. The identification of phenolic compounds in the extract was accomplished by comparison of their retention times with those of pure standards. The chemical composition of fatty acids in lipidic extract was determined by GC/FIDs and GC/MS method.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec id="j_jcim-2019-0036_s_003c_w2aab3b7b1b1b6b1aab1c12b3Aa"><jats:title>Results</jats:title><jats:p>The obtained results revealed that using DPPH, the ethanolic extract recorded the highest activity with (IC50=449 μg/mL ± 83). It was characterized with a high levels of phenolic and flavonoid content 0.33 ± 0.01 mg GAE/g dw and 0.21 ± 0.01 mg quercetin/g dw, respectively. The ethanolic extract showed the presence of caffeic acid, syringic acid, ferulic acid, p-coumaric acid, chlorogenic acid, kaempferol, quercetin and apigenin. Those entire phenolic compounds seem participle synergistically to the pronounced higher activity. To the best of our knowledge, the apigenin (4′, 5, 7,-trihydroxyflavone), a natural compound which is famously known by its potent antiradical activity, was identified for the first time in Moroccan <jats:italic>S. platensis</jats:italic> only in the ethanolic extract. A high positive correlation (r=0.895) between the antioxidant activity and the chemical composition of ethanolic extract was observed. For ABTS, lipidic extract showed the highest activity with (IC50=740 μg/mL ± 12). A total of 15 fatty acids compounds, amounting 89.73% of the extract were identified. γ-linolenic acid (GLA) (39.02%) and α-linolenic acid (ALA) (13.85%) were the major component and contribute greatly to the antioxidant activity observed. The lipidic extract has a high content of unsaturated fatty acids (70.95%) which are often exhibited very high antioxidant activity since they have two or more double bonds and chain lengths. The aqueous extract either with DPPH or ABTS methods, recorded low antioxidant activity. Its correlation was r=0.499, lower than found in the ethanolic extract.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec id="j_jcim-2019-0036_s_004d_w2aab3b7b1b1b6b1aab1c12b4Aa"><jats:title>Conclusions</jats:title><jats:p>These results showed that <jats:italic>Spirulina platensis</jats:italic> could be considered as a valuable source of fatty acids and phenolics with potent antioxidant activity. It may be employed in the manufacture of pharmaceutical drugs as an alternative source of natural antioxidants.</jats:p></jats:sec>

Enhanced Wound Healing Potential of Spirulina platensis Nanophytosomes: Metabolomic Profiling, Molecular Networking, and Modulation of HMGB-1 in an Excisional Wound Rat Model

“…An impaired antioxidant system increases oxidative stress and inflammatory cytokine production; hence, targeting and constructing a formula with antioxidant potential is highly needed [ 56 ]. The topical application of SPNP-gel showed the highest antioxidant capacity, among treatment groups, by upsurging Nrf-2/HO-1 protein expressions compared to normally healed rats, and this antioxidant power was well documented by previous studies [ 57 , 58 ].…”

Bioactive Compounds from Ephedra fragilis: Extraction Optimization, Chemical Characterization, Antioxidant and AntiGlycation Activities

“…Analysis of phenolic compounds in the EAF was performed with Agilent 1100 (Agilent technologies, Santa Clara, CA, USA) equipped with a ZORBAX Eclipse SB-C18 reversed-phase analytical column of 100 × 4 mm and 3.5 µm particle size [ 71 ]. Column temperature was kept constant at 48 °C.…”

Preparation, Characterization, and Antioxidant Properties of Phycocyanin Complexes Based on Sodium Alginate and Lysozyme

“…Spirulina preparation can improve the intestinal environment by promoting the growth of Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium and other intestinal beneficial bacteria ( 2 ). Recently, studies on Spirulina have shown that Spirulina contains many phenolic compounds, which usually have high antioxidant activity ( 3 ). Estrada et al found that phycobiliprotein (PC) extracted from Spirulina also has good antioxidant activity ( 4 ).…”