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Articolo in rivista, 2023, ENG, 10.3390/foods12173147

Chlamydomonas agloeformis from the Ecuadorian Highlands: Nutrients and Bioactive Compounds Profiling and In Vitro Antioxidant Activity

Teresa Grande, Andrea Vornoli, Valter Lubrano, Francesco Vizzarri, Andrea Raffaelli, Morena Gabriele, Jeniffer Novoa, Carla Sandoval, Vincenzo Longo, Maria Cristina Echeverria and Luisa Pozzo

Institute of Agricultural Biology and Biotechnology-National Research Council (IBBA-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; National Agricultural and Food Centre Nitra, Hlohovecká 2, 95141 Lu?ianky, Slovakia; 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.

Green microalgae are single-celled eukaryotic organisms that, in recent years, are becoming increasingly important in the nutraceutical, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical fields because of their high content of bioactive compounds. In this study, a particular green microalga was isolated from freshwater highland lakes of Ecuador and morphologically and molecularly identified as Chlamydomonas agloeformis (ChA), and it was studied for nutritional and nutraceutical properties. The phenolic composition and the fatty acids profile of lyophilized cells were determined. The methanolic extract was analyzed for the phenolic compounds profile and the antioxidant capacity by means of in vitro tests. Finally, Human Microvascular Endothelial Cells (HMEC-1) were exploited to explore the capacity of ChA to reduce the endothelial damage induced by oxidized LDL-mediated oxidative stress. The extract showed a good antioxidant ability thanks to the high content in polyphenolic compounds. The observed decrease in HMEC-1 cells endothelial damage also was probably due to the antioxidant compounds present in the extract. Based on the outcomes of our in vitro assays, ChA demonstrated to be a promising source of bioactive compounds possessing exceptional antioxidant capacities which make it a prospective functional food.

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