Biological Properties of Fucoxanthin in Oil Recovered from Two Brown Seaweeds Using Supercritical CO2 Extraction

Abstract

The bioactive materials in brown seaweeds hold great interest for developing new drugs and healthy foods. The oil content in brown seaweeds (Saccharina japonica and Sargassum horneri) was extracted by using environmentally friendly supercritical CO2 (SC-CO2) with ethanol as a co-solvent in a semi-batch flow extraction process and compared the results with a conventional extraction process using hexane, ethanol, and acetone mixed with methanol (1:1, v/v). The SC-CO2 method was used at a temperature of 45 °C and pressure of 250 bar. The flow rate of CO2 (27 g/min) was constant for the entire extraction period of 2 h. The obtained oil from the brown seaweeds was analyzed to determine their valuable compounds such as fatty acids, phenolic compounds, fucoxanthin and biological properties including antioxidant, antimicrobial, and antihypertension effects. The amounts of fucoxanthin extracted from the SC-CO2 oils of S. japonica and S. horneri were 0.41 ± 0.05 and 0.77 ± 0.07 mg/g, respectively. High antihypertensive activity was detected when using mixed acetone and methanol, whereas the phenolic content and antioxidant property were higher in the oil extracted by SC-CO2. The acetone–methanol mix extracts exhibited better antimicrobial activities than those obtained by other means. Thus, the SC-CO2 extraction process appears to be a good method for obtaining valuable compounds from both brown seaweeds, and showed stronger biological activity than that obtained by the conventional extraction process.

Optimisation of fucoxanthin extraction from Irish seaweeds by response surface methodology

“…Broad ranges have been reported for all three of these parameters, using various protocols. Grosso et al (2015) reviewed extraction methods ranging from pH 3.8 to 8.5; Bidigare et al (2005) reported using 0°C for up to 24 h, Billakanti et al (2013) 37°C for 2 h at pH 6.2, Quitain et al (2013) 40°C for 3 h, Sivagnanam et al (2015) 45°C for 2 h, Roh et al (2008) 49.85°C for 50 min, and Shang et al (2011) pigment-containing thylakoids in the blades, which function as the photosynthesis engines of macroalgae, compared to the stipe or holdfasts which have structural functions. Photoprotection of thallus regions near the ocean surface against ultraviolet light is another function of fucoxanthin in the blades, where it exerts its powerful antioxidant effect (Lobban and Harrison 1994;Stengel and Dring 1998;Hurd et al 2014).…”

“…It has been shown in vivo to have activity against cancer (Nakazawa et al 2009;Jaswir et al 2013), type II diabetes (Oh et al 2016), obesity (Maeda et al 2007), cholesterol (Beppu et al 2012), inflammatory disorders (Shiratori et al 2005), tumour angiogenesis (Martin 2015), malaria (Briglia et al 2015), hypertension (Sivagnanam et al 2015), and as a β-secretase 1 inhibitor in Alzheimer's disease (Jung et al 2016). Epidemiological data has suggested that the regular consumption of seaweeds can reduce the risk of developing diseases associated with oxidative stress.…”

Characterization of the bio-oil and bio-char produced by fixed bed pyrolysis of the brown alga Saccharina japonica

“…The macroalgae include members of the brown, red, and green algae, which have been commonly used as ingredients in food, medicine, cosmetics, hydrocolloids, animal feed, and fertilizers [4][5][6]. The amount of macroalgae cultivated in the world has increased steadily (at a 10% annual growth rate) to reach >15 million wetmetric-tons by 2010 [7].…”

Seaweeds: An Extensive Review of Medicinal Values

“…Antioxidant properties of Fucus vesiculosus and Ascophyllum nodosum (due to phlorotannins) [399], Turbinaria conoides (2H-pyranoids) [400], Ulva clathrate (phenolics and flavonoid contents) [401], Bifurcaria bifurcate ( Figure 21) (diterpenes eleganolone and eleganonal) [402], Cystoseira spp. (phenolic constituents) [119], Sargassum siliquastrum (phenolic compounds, ascorbic acid) [403], Ulva compressa (phenolic contents) [404], Saccharina japonica (polysaccharides) and Sargassum horneri (phenolic contents) [405,406], Halophila ovalis ( Figure 22) and Halophila beccarii (flavonoids) [407,408], Cystoseira sedoides (mannuronic acid than guluronic acid) [369,409,410], Caulerpa peltata, Gelidiella acerosa, Padina gymnospora, and Sargassum wightii (phenols and flavonoids) [411], Ecklonia cava Kjellman (polyphenols) [412,413], Undaria pinnatifida (phlorotannins) [414] are well reported. Most other medicinal effects are mainly due to presence of these antioxidants.…”