Exploring Nordic microalgae as a potential novel source of antioxidant and bioactive compounds

• Published in: New Biotechnology
• Main Authors: León Vaz, Antonio, León Bañares, Rosa María, Vigara Fernández, Javier, Funk, Funk, Christiane
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2023
• Subjects: Carotenoids; Phenolic compounds; DPPH; Cold stress; High light stress; High-value compounds; 24 Ciencias de la Vida; Subarctic
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10272/21378; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nbt.2022.12.001

Nordic microalgae are a group of photosynthetic organisms acclimated to growth at low temperature and in varying light conditions; the subarctic climate offers bright days with moderate temperatures during summer and cold and dark winter months. The robustness to these natural stress conditions makes the species interesting for large-scale cultivation in harsh environments and for the production of high-value compounds. The aim of this study was to explore the ability of nineteen species of Nordic microalgae to produce different bioactive compounds, such as carotenoids or polyphenols. The results showed that some of these strains are able to produce high amounts of carotenoids (over 12 mg·g-1 dry weight) and phenolic compounds (over 20 mg GAE·g-1 dry weight). Based on these profiles, six species were selected for cultivation under high light and cold stress (500 μmol·m-2·s-1 and 10 ˚C). The strains Chlorococcum sp. (MC1) and Scenedesmus sp. (B2–2) exhibited similar values of biomass productivity under standard or stress conditions, but produced higher concentrations of carotenoids (an increase of 40% and 25%, respectively), phenolic compounds (an increase of 40% and 30%, respectively), and showed higher antioxidant capacity (an increase of 15% and 20%, respectively) during stress. The results highlight the ability of these Nordic microalgae as outstanding producers of bioactive compounds, justifying their cultivation at large scale in Nordic environments. The authors acknowledge support by the Swedish Research Council FORMAS (2019-00492 to C.F.), the NordForsk NCoE program “NordAqua” (Project no. 82845 to C.F.) and Umeå University (to A.L-V. and C.F.). The authors are grateful to the University of Huelva and Fertinagro Biotech Foundation (Cátedra Fertinagro Biotech Universidad de Huelva). A.L-V also wishes to thank Next Generation European Funds and the Ministry of Universities of Spain for funding the Recualificación del Profesorado Universitario system.