Evaluation of Phenolic Compounds and Pigments in Freshwater Cladophora glomerata Biomass from Various Lithuanian Rivers as a Potential Future Raw Material for Biotechnology

Abstract

Freshwater macroalgae produces a wide range of bioactive compounds, and interest in utilizing its biomass is growing rapidly. Meanwhile, exploiting renewable sources for biomass collection could lead to more sustainable biotechnological chains. The aim of this study was to investigate Cladophora glomerata biomass from Lithuanian rivers as a potential raw material for biotechnology. For this reason, phenolic compound profiles, antioxidant activity and pigment concentrations were determined in macroalgal biomass samples collected from the following four Lithuanian rivers: Dubysa (B1), Šventoji (B2), Nevėžis (B3) and Jūra (B4). The highest total phenolic compound content was determined in B3 (1.32 mg GAE/g). Three phenolic acids were identified, namely gallic (12.94–35.13 µg/g), p-hydroxybenzoic (23.97–29.05 µg/g) and p-coumaric (1.79–6.46 µg/g). The results indicate significant C. glomerata antioxidant activity; the highest reducing power reached 0.737 AU (B3), the total antioxidant content was 1.47 mg Trolox/g (B3), DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging was 11.09% (B3) and 97.86% (B1) and FRAP activity 20.86 µmol/L (B3). The content of pigments ranged from 0.56-0.74, 0.39–0.57, 0.17–0.23 to 0.11–0.17 mg/g in chlorophyll a, b, carotenoids, and lutein, respectively. To conclude, C. glomerata macroalgal biomass may have the potential to act as a functional raw material, as several groups of bioactive compounds and antioxidant activities were observed.

Sensory Evaluation of Rabbit Meat from Individuals Fed Functional and More Sustainable Diets Enriched with Freshwater Cladophora glomerata Macroalgal Biomass

“…It is important to note that higher macroalgal biomass inclusion reduced the redness of the muscles at almost all points post-mortem. This could be based on our prior findings that freshwater C. glomerata macroalgal biomass collected from Lithuanian rivers plays a significant role in the identified antioxidant effect [ 9 ].…”

“…The biomass of C. glomerata used for feed formulation was manually collected from the Šventoji River in Lithuania, cleaned, dried, and subsequently utilized in feed production. The chemical composition of the biomass has been previously examined and reported [ 8 , 9 , 10 ]. Protocol structure from the Šventoji River to rabbit muscle analysis is presented in Figure 1 .…”

“…Addressing consumer concerns about sustainability, the utilization of alternative raw materials such as the biomass of freshwater macroalgae, such as C. glomerata , in rabbit feed production offers a solution that is derived from renewable sources and reduces the ecological footprint of conventional feed production. In our previous studies, we presented the potential of C. glomerata biomass collected from Lithuanian rivers as a more sustainable and even functional feed material by analyzing its chemical composition, fatty and amino acid profiles, as well as antioxidant activity [ 8 , 9 , 10 ]. Furthermore, after conducting a feeding trial with rabbits and replacing traditional feed materials with different dosages of C. glomerata biomass, we discovered that this kind of alternative feed formulation can improve the functionality of rabbit meat even further [ 11 ].…”

Phycosynthesis of Silver Nanoparticles Using Cladophora Glomerata and Evaluation of Their Ability to Inhibit the Proliferation of MCF-7 and L20B Cell Lines

“…To identify the species, the specimens were pressed and preserved in a 4% formalin solution. The algal biomass was then manually cleaned, rinsed with tap water, washed several times with distilled water, maintained in a ventilated area, and then heated to 50°C to produce around 2 grams of dry biomass, before being ground to a fine powder (Mohammed et al, 2018;Nutautait 2022).…”

“…A high temperature of 280 °C was used. Utilizing post-run software and (SHIMADZU, Japan), the complete process has been described by (Nutautait, 2022). Finally, the phytochemicals were identified by comparing their mass to the NIST library search and reporting standards.…”