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Antioxidant Activity and Carotenoid Content Responses of Three Haematococcus sp. (Chlorophyta) Strains Exposed to Multiple Stressors

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Abstract

There has been increasing demands worldwide for bioactive compounds of natural origins, especially for the nutraceutical and food-supplement sectors. In this context, microalgae are viewed as sustainable sources of molecules with an array of health benefits. For instance, astaxanthin is a xanthophyll pigment with powerful antioxidant capacity produced by microalgae such as the chlorophyte Haematococcus sp., which is regarded as the most suitable organism for the mass production of this pigment. In this study, three Haematococcus sp. strains were cultivated using a batch mode under favourable conditions to promote vegetative growth. Their environment was altered in a second phase using a higher and constant illumination regime combined with either exposure to blue LED light, an osmotic shock (with NaCl addition) or supplementation with a phytohormone (gibberellic acid, GA3), a plant extract (ginger), an herbicide (molinate) or an oxidant reagent (hydrogen peroxide). The effects of these stressors were evaluated in terms of antioxidant response and astaxanthin and β-carotene accumulation. Overall, strain CCAP 34/7 returned the highest Trolox Equivalent Antioxidant Capacity (TEAC) response (14.1–49.1 µmoL Trolox eq. g− 1 of DW), while the highest antioxidant response with the Folin–Ciocalteu (FC) was obtained for strain RPFW01 (62.5–155 µmoL Trolox eq. g− 1 of DW). The highest β-β-carotene content was found in strain LAFW15 when supplemented with the ginger extract (4.8 mg. g− 1). Strain RPFW01 exposed to blue light returned the highest astaxanthin yield (2.8 mg. g− 1), 5-fold that of strain CCAP 34/7 on average. This study documents the importance of screening several strains when prospecting for species with potential to produce high-value metabolites. It highlights that strain-specific responses can ensue from exposure of cells to a variety of stressors, which is important for the adequate tailoring of a biorefinery pipeline.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the technical staff of the School of Science at the Institute of Technology Sligo, specifically JohnJoe Mc Gloin and Mary Connolly for their support.

Funding

This research was financially supported by the IT Sligo President’s Bursary Fund and the VES4US project funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under grant agreement no 801338.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Science, Department of Environmental Science, Centre for Environmental Research, Sustainability and Innovation, Atlantic Technological University, Sligo, Ireland

    Rachel Parkes, Maria Elena Barone, Helen Herbert, Eoin Gillespie & Nicolas Touzet

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  1. Rachel Parkes
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  2. Maria Elena Barone
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  3. Helen Herbert
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  4. Eoin Gillespie
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  5. Nicolas Touzet
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study methodology, writing review, and editing. Conceptualisation, investigation, formal analysis, data curation, visualisation, project administration and analysis were performed by Rachel Parkes, while supervised by Nicolas Touzet who was involved in conceptualisation, resources, funding acquisition and validation. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Rachel Parkes and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Rachel Parkes.

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Highlights

• Three Haematococcus sp. strains were exposed to varying stressors via a two-stage cultivation.

• The Irish strain RPFW01 returned the highest antioxidant response with the FC assay (62.5–155 µmoL Trolox eq. g− 1 of DW).

• The CCAP 34/7 strain returned the highest antioxidant response with the TEAC assay (14.1–49.1 µmoL Trolox eq. g− 1 of DW).

• The highest astaxanthin (2.8 mg. g− 1) and β-carotene yields (4.2 mg. g− 1) were obtained for strain RPFW01.

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Parkes, R., Barone, M.E., Herbert, H. et al. Antioxidant Activity and Carotenoid Content Responses of Three Haematococcus sp. (Chlorophyta) Strains Exposed to Multiple Stressors. Appl Biochem Biotechnol 194, 4492–4510 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12010-022-03926-4

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