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Evaluation of the in vitro biological activity of protein hydrolysates of the edible red alga, Palmaria palmata (dulse) harvested from the Gaspe coast and cultivated in tanks

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Abstract

The in vitro antioxidant activity and angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibition potential of protein extracts of Palmaria palmata (dulse) red seaweed from the Gaspé coast (QC, Canada) were investigated. The effects of the algae geographical origin and cultivation conditions were also studied. The highest activity values were displayed by <10 kDa protein fraction hydrolyzed by chymotrypsin (HF) at concentrations as low as 0.1 to 5 mg mL−1. Algae harvested in Pabos (QC, Canada) were more biologically active than algae from Newport (QC, Canada), demonstrating, respectively, 67.74 ± 3.9 % and 49.10 ± 10.9 % ACE inhibition at a concentration of 5 mg mL−1. Algae collected in Newport, cultivated in tanks with or without nutrients (NC+, NC−), scored higher biological activity than algae grown in Newport (N) waters. The <10 kDa HF obtained from the algae batch NC+ demonstrated, through an oxygen radical absorbance capacity assay, the highest antioxidant value: 440.73 ± 43.21 μmol trolox equivalents g−1 at 0.4 mg mL−1. Using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) with database searches, protein precursors such as protein ribulose-1,5-biphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (RuBiSCo) enzyme, allophycocyanins and phycocyanins, were identified in <10 kDa HF (P, N, NC−, NC+). Results show that protein hydrolysates from P. palmata demonstrate a high potential as healthy and functional ingredients and identified proteins could be targeted for crop improvement.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank the Proteomics platform of the Eastern Quebec Genomics Centre (Quebec, Canada) for the mass spectrometry experiments and database searching, Mrs. Roxanne Brion-Roby, Mataëlle Onapin and Jacinthe Thibodeau for their technical expertise, Mrs. Catherine Boisvert and Catherine Doucet for their involvement in statistical analysis, Emilie Gouhier and the technical staff from Merinov for assistance with seaweed sampling and cultivation, Mrs. Maria Pacheco-Oliver (National Research Council, Montreal, Canada) and Claudie Bonnet (UQAR, Rimouski, Canada) for their involvement in the presubmission review of this paper. Authors would also like to thank the Institute of Nutrition and Functional Foods (INAF, QC, Canada), the Ministère de l’Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de l’Alimentation du Québec (MAPAQ), the University of Québec at Rimouski (Rimouski, QC, Canada), Fonds de recherche du Québec-Nature et technologies (FRQNT), Ministère de l’Éducation, de l’Enseignement supérieur et de la Recherche (MEESR) and the NSERC Industrial Research Chair Grants for their financial support.

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  1. Institut sur la nutrition et les aliments fonctionnels (INAF), Département des sciences des aliments, Université Laval, 2425 rue de l’Agriculture, Québec, QC, G1V 0A6, Canada

    Lucie Beaulieu & Maude Sirois

  2. Collectif de Recherche Appliquée aux Bioprocédés et à la chimie de l’Environnement CRABE, Université du Québec à Rimouski, 300 allée des Ursulines, Rimouski, QC, G5L 3A1, Canada

    Lucie Beaulieu & Maude Sirois

  3. École des pêches et de l’aquaculture du Québec, Cégep de la Gaspésie et des Iles, Quebec Fisheries and Aquaculture Innovation Centre, Merinov, 6 rue du Parc, Grande-Rivière, Québec, G0C 1V0, Canada

    Éric Tamigneaux

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  1. Lucie Beaulieu
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Correspondence to Lucie Beaulieu.

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Beaulieu, L., Sirois, M. & Tamigneaux, É. Evaluation of the in vitro biological activity of protein hydrolysates of the edible red alga, Palmaria palmata (dulse) harvested from the Gaspe coast and cultivated in tanks. J Appl Phycol 28, 3101–3115 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-016-0850-3

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