engleski

Arthrospira platensis as a highly sustainable ingredient for eco-friendly cosmetics

Arthrospira platensis is a promising and sustainable microalga characterized by easy growth without the need for herbicide or pesticide usage, and the possibility to utilize the whole microalgae without waste and harmful greenhouse gas emissions. It represents a valuable source of bioactive compounds with different health-promoting properties which make A. platensis an attractive ingredient for the formulation of eco-friendly cosmetics. As dehydration is one of the crucial production steps in the cosmetic, pharmaceutic, and food industries, the aim of this work was to investigate the influence of different drying temperatures on the chemical composition of A. platensis. Antioxidant activity of methanol: dichloromethane (1:1) extracts from differently dried (40, 50, 60, 80, and 100°C) samples were analyzed using 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH), reduction of the radical cation (ABTS), ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) assays. The influence of drying temperature on total protein, carbohydrate, pigment, and lipid content was evaluated, while gas chromatography was carried out to determine fatty acid composition. By implementing ABTS and DPPH methods, the highest antioxidant activity was observed for the sample dried at 40°C followed by 50 and 80°C dried samples with 1.5- and 2.5-fold lower activity (p<0.005). ORAC results showed the highest activity for samples dried at 50°C when compared to other samples (p<0.0001) while FRAP assay revealed high activity off all tested extracts indicating electron transfer as the main mechanism, with the highest activity for samples dried at 40°C and 100°C among which no statistically significant difference was observed. The highest lipid content was around 2% for samples dried at 40 and 50°C. Fatty acid composition revealed a similar qualitative and quantitative distribution of fatty acids in all samples. Saturated fatty acids were the most represented, followed by monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids, among which essential omega-6 (linoleic acid) and omega-3 (docosahexaenoic acid) fatty acids were found. Total protein, carbohydrate, and pigment contents are influenced by drying temperatures with differences between samples. Duration of drying along with an increase in temperature has shown to have an impact on chemical composition and activity among samples. Overall results point out that A. platensis can be utilized by different industries in an economically and eco-friendly manner by using intermediate temperatures of drying while preserving the beneficial properties of this microalga.

microalgae ; antioxidant activity ; fatty acids

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