Solid-phase extraction and ionotropic gelation strategies for refining marennine: evaluation of the resulting product properties through comprehensive quality indicators
摘要
Marennine is a natural blue pigment produced by the diatom Haslea ostrearia which presents potentially useful bioactivities such as antioxidant and antibacterial activities. In this study, a new marennine refining strategy, employing solid-phase extraction and ionotropic gelation techniques, was applied to marennine-rich culture supernatant (blue water, BW) from batch cultures of H. ostrearia. The objective of this study was to assess the impact of this refining process on the quality of marennine extracts. Different fractions were obtained, which were characterized through quality indicators based on physicochemical parameters (carbohydrate content, UV–Visible, Attenuated Total Reflectance-Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy) and bioactivities (DPPH scavenging and Vibrio growth inhibition assay on different strains). The results showed that marennine refining allowed the improvement of its quality. Compared to the extract obtained using the commonly employed ultrafiltration approach, marennine extract’s DPPH scavenging efficiency was doubled, and its capacity to inhibit the growth of pathogenic Vibrio bacteria was preserved. Altogether, this study confirmed the benefits of the chosen refining strategy on both preserving and increasing the potency of marennine extracts from H. ostrearia.