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Articolo in rivista, 2023, ENG, 10.3390/antiox12061308

In Vitro Characterization of Antioxidant, Antibacterial and Antimutagenic Activities of the Green Microalga Ettlia pseudoalveolaris

Andrea Vornoli, Teresa Grande, Valter Lubrano, Francesco Vizzarri, Chiara Gorelli, Andrea Raffaelli, Clara Maria Della Croce, Santiago Zarate Baca, Carla Sandoval, Vincenzo Longo, Luisa Pozzo, and Cristina Echeverria

Institute of Agricultural Biology and Biotechnology (IBBA), National Research Council (CNR), Via Moruzzi 1, 56124 Pisa, Italy; Department of Experimental and Clinical Biomedical Sciences "Mario Serio", University of Florence, Viale Morgagni 50, 50134 Florence, Italy; Fondazione G. Monasterio, CNR/Regione Toscana, 56124 Pisa, Italy; Crop Science Research Center, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Piazza Martiri della Libertà 33, 56127 Pisa, Italy; eCIER Research Group, Department of Biotechnology, Universidad Técnica del Norte, Av. 17 de Julio 5-21 y Gral. José María Córdova, Ibarra 100150, Ecuador.

Recently, green microalgae have gained importance due to their nutritional and bioactive compounds, which makes them some of the most promising and innovative functional foods. The aim of this study was to evaluate the chemical profile and the in vitro antioxidant, antimicrobial and antimutagenic activity of an aqueous extract of the green microalga Ettlia pseudoalveolaris, obtained from the freshwater lakes of the Ecuadorian Highlands. Human microvascular endothelial cells (HMEC-1) were used to determine the ability of the microalga to reduce the endothelial damage caused by hydrogen peroxide-induced oxidative stress. Furthermore, the eukaryotic system Saccha- romyces cerevisiae was used to evaluate the possible cytotoxic, mutagenic and antimutagenic effect of E. pseudoalveolaris. The extract showed a notable antioxidant capacity and a moderate antibacterial activity mostly due to the high content in polyphenolic compounds. It is likely that the antioxidant compounds present in the extract were also responsible for the observed reduction in endothelial damage of HMEC-1 cells. An antimutagenic effect through a direct antioxidant mechanism was also found. Based on the results of in vitro assays, E. pseudoalveolaris proved to be a good source of bioactive compounds and antioxidant, antibacterial and antimutagenic capacities making it a potential functional food.

Antioxidants