Carotenoid composition of locally found seaweeds of Dakshina Kannada district in India
Introduction
Carotenoids are derivatives of tetraterpenes naturally occurring in photosynthetic organisms that render characteristic color to flowers, vegetables, fruits, and algae. They are broadly classified into xanthophylls (oxygenated hydrocarbons) and carotenes (hydrocarbons). Carotenoids are not only phytochemicals that can be used as organic pigments but also cater to specific health benefits. Among the carotenes, α-carotene and β-carotene exhibit provitamin-A activity [1]. Xanthophylls such as lutein, zeaxanthin and meso-zeaxanthin accumulate in the human macula and are collectively referred to as macular pigments. These macular pigments effectively absorb incoming blue light and quench the singlet oxygen species formed in the outer segments of the photoreceptors, which protects the retinal pigment epithelial cells from light-induced oxidative damage [2]. Henceforth, they are believed to avoid ailments linked to vision like Age-related Macular Degeneration. Accumulation of lutein in different active parts of the brain prevents oxidation of Docosa-Hexanoic Acid [3] ensuing reduction of oxidative stress in age-related cognitive decline [[4], [5], [6]] and Alzheimer's Disease [7]. However, mammals fail to synthesize carotenoids and are dependent on photosynthetic sources through diet. For vision-allied benefits, a daily intake of 2.4 mg β-carotene and 6 mg lutein/zeaxanthin is recommended [8]. Although most yellow fruits and vegetables like mango, pumpkin, corn, peaches and others like peas, pistachios, and asparagus are edible sources of carotenoids [9,10], upon consumption, its bio-availability is always a question of concern. West and Castenmiller [11] gave the abbreviation ‘SLAMENGI’ pointing out the factors that affect bioavailability and bioconversion of carotenoids such as Species of carotenoid, molecular Linkage, Amount of carotenoid ingested, carotenoid Matrix, Effectors of absorption and bioconversion, Nutrition status of the host, Genetic and host-related factors, and mathematical Interactions. Commercial extraction and production of carotenoids as nutraceuticals are thus gaining popularity. However, considering the yield and the cost of production, the choice of a resourceful source is necessary.
Algal biomass production is an economical practice to procure many valuable compounds like vitamins and carotenoids. They grow 5–10 times faster than higher plants without competing for resources. They have diverse niches (including seawater, brackish water, and even non-arable land) and most algal species are available throughout the year. India is a peninsula surrounded by Bay of Bengal on the east, the Arabian Sea on the west and the Indian Ocean on the south. The coastal belt of Karnataka state in India is a home for a variety of seaweeds. The occurrence of a total of 78 species belonging to 52 genera of Chlorophyta, Rhodophyta, Phaeophyceae, and Cyanophyta was observed in the coastal belt of Karnataka [12]. 42 genera of Rhodophyta, Phaeophyceae, and Chlorophyta were reported to be distributed throughout the northern coast of Karnataka [13]. The intertidal southern coast of Karnataka was reported to be a habitat for eight varieties of seaweeds [12]. Coasts of Mangaluru in Dakshina Kannada district (southern coast of Karnataka) is found to be a host for 14 species of seaweeds commonly belonging to genera Chaetomorpha, Cladophora, Sargassum, Ulva, Grateloupia, and others [14]. However, these seaweeds are not commonly consumed in the coastal belt and its carotenoid profile remains unexplored. Henceforth, this study aimed at recognizing and screening locally found species of macroalgae in the Dakshina Kannada district as a source for carotenoids. To our knowledge, our study is the first to report the likelihood of utilizing these locally found seaweeds as a probable commercial source of carotenoids.
Section snippets
Study area
The study area was restricted to coasts of Mangaluru (12°45′31.7″N 74°51′53.2″E to 13°06′25.9″N 74°46′03.6″E) in Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka, situated on the west coast of India (Fig. 1). 95% of annual rainfall in the district is received from May–October with an average precipitation of 3796 mm and average humidity of 75%. The coastal belt of the district runs about 40 km in Mangaluru which was divided into northern and southern parts. Two representative shores (one from each part)
Samples collected
In our study, 14 seaweeds of Chlorophyta, Rhodophyta, and Phaeophyceae were collected of which nine were from the station I and five were from the station II (Table 1). Algae collected from the station I was identified to be of genera Ulva, Cladophora, Chaetomorpha, Grateloupia, Gracilaria, and Ceramium. Whereas, algae collected from station II were identified to be of genera Ulva, Bryopsis, Grateloupia and Sargassum. Previous studies conducted on understanding ecological distribution on the
Conclusion
14 locally found marine macroalgae of Dakshina Kannada district including Chlorophyta, Rhodophyta, and Phaeophyceae were investigated for its carotenoid profile. Chlorophyta showed higher amounts of carotenoids followed by Rhodophyta and Phaeophyceae. Although algae have been earlier utilized for pigment production, the potential of seaweeds to be used as a source of carotenoids is poorly recognized and explored. This study is the first to report the carotenoid profile of seaweeds of coastal
Author contributions
Ishani Bhat: Writing-original draft, Investigation, Visualization, Formal analysis, Validation; Gopinath Haripriya: Investigation; Nishithkumar Jogi: Resources; Bangera Sheshappa Mamatha: Supervision, Project administration, Funding acquisition.
Funding
This study was funded by the Indian Council of Medical Research, New Delhi, India and Nitte (Deemed to be University), Deralakatte, Karnataka, India.
Statement of informed consent
No conflicts, informed consent, or human or animal rights are applicable to this study.
Declaration of competing interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
Acknowledgements
The authors thank Dr. CRK Reddy, Marine Biotechnology and Ecology Division, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), India for the identification of the algal samples collected. The authors express their sincere gratitude to Prof. Dr. Indrani Karunasagar, Director (R&D), Nitte (DU) and Prof. Dr. Iddya Karunasagar, Senior Director (International Relations), Nitte (DU) for their constant guidance and support. The authors also extend their gratitude to Prof. KK Bhat, Former HOD,
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2022, Food BioscienceCitation Excerpt :This property is affiliated with the protective action against age-related macular degeneration (Dall’Osto et al., 2017). Mammals, however, fail to synthesize lutein and are dependent on dietary photosynthetic sources like fruits, vegetables and algae (Bhat et al., 2021). While most yellow fruits and vegetables (mango, pumpkin, maize, peaches, pea, pistachios, asparagus, etc.) are edible lutein sources, their bio-availability is often a matter of concern when orally consumed (Aruna et al., 2009; Bhat & Mamatha, 2021; Mamatha et al., 2011).