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Marine Drugs
Special Issues
The Extraction and Application of Functional Components in Algae
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The Extraction and Application of Functional Components in Algae

A special issue of Marine Drugs (ISSN 1660-3397). This special issue belongs to the section "Marine-Derived Ingredients for Drugs, Cosmeceuticals and Nutraceuticals".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2025 | Viewed by 4045

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Aurora Silva

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Guest Editor
REQUIMTE/LAQV-ISEP, Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto, Porto, Portugal
Interests: algae; natural products; bioactivities; antimicrobial tests
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Miguel Ángel Prieto Lage

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Guest Editor
Nutrition and Bromatology Group, Department of Analytical Chemistry and Food Science, Faculty of Science, University of Vigo, E-32004 Ourense, Spain
Interests: algae; food chemistry; food technology; bioactive compounds; analytical techniques; natural food products; natural cosmetics; emergent technologies; green processes; sustainability; bioinformatics; chemical engineering; synergy; antagonism; natural and synthetic antioxidants; mathematical modeling; biological responses; toxicology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Clara Grosso

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Guest Editor
REQUIMTE, LAQV, Instituto Superior de Engenharia Do Porto, Instituto Politécnico Do Porto, 4249-015 Porto, Portugal
Interests: medicinal and aromatic plants; seaweeds; secondary metabolites; bioactivities; green extraction processes; nanotechnology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Maria Fátima Sá Barroso

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Guest Editor
REQUIMTE–LAQV, School of Engineering, Polytechnic Institute of Porto, R. Dr. António Bernardino de Almeida 431, 4200-072 Porto, Portugal
Interests: mental disorders; nanomaterials; surface chemistry processes; diagnosis-based methods; biosensors; DNA-based sensors; genosensors
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Algae, with their different species and biochemical compositions, provide a rich source of functional components such as polysaccharides, polyphenols, pigments, fatty acids, vitamins and minerals. These components exhibit a spectrum of bioactivities, ranging from antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties to neuroprotective and antitumor effects. Yet, given the vast diversity of these metabolites and their wide distribution in seaweed, there is a need for updated knowledge on their extraction, characterization and study.

In this Special Issue, we intend to examine the complex processes involved in extracting functional components from algae, as well as their diverse applications. Original articles and reviews that explore innovative extraction techniques with a focus on optimized yields and/or bioactive potential, advanced analytical methods for the characterization and quantification of functional components extracted from algae and applications are welcome.

Dr. Aurora Silva
Dr. Miguel Ángel Prieto Lage
Dr. Clara Grosso
Dr. Maria Fátima Sá Barroso
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Marine Drugs is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • algae functional components
  • extraction of bioactive molecules
  • health benefits
  • nutraceuticals
  • applications (food, pharmaceutical, wellness and care, etc.)

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 2503 KiB  
Article
Optimization of Nanoencapsulation of Codium tomentosum Extract and Its Potential Application in Yogurt Fortification
by Micaela Costa, Cristina Soares, Aurora Silva, Maria Fátima Barroso, Pedro Simões, Mariana Ferreira, Paula Gameiro, Clara Grosso and Cristina Delerue-Matos
Mar. Drugs 2025, 23(4), 147; https://doi.org/10.3390/md23040147 - 28 Mar 2025
Viewed by 438
Abstract
Marine macroalgae are excellent sources of bioactive compounds recognized by their pharmaceutical and biomedical potential. A subcritical water extraction (SWE) was applied to the macroalga Codium tomentosum, and the extract was used to prepare phytosomes. A Box–Behnken design was applied to optimize [...] Read more.
Marine macroalgae are excellent sources of bioactive compounds recognized by their pharmaceutical and biomedical potential. A subcritical water extraction (SWE) was applied to the macroalga Codium tomentosum, and the extract was used to prepare phytosomes. A Box–Behnken design was applied to optimize the entrapment efficiency. These phytosomes were further modified with DSPE-PEG (2000)-maleimide and apolipoprotein E and characterized by dynamic light scattering, UV spectrophotometry, octanol/water partition coefficient, differential scanning calorimetry, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. As proof of concept, prototypes of functional food tailored to the elderly were produced. Yogurts were fortified with seaweed extract or phytosomes, and physicochemical properties and proximal composition (pH, acidity, syneresis, moisture, peroxides, proteins, total lipids, sugar content, ash, and mineral composition) were analyzed. The antioxidant and the inhibition capacity of two brain enzymes, cholinesterases (AChE and BuChE), involved in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease, were also evaluated in the final prototypes. Despite their unappealing sensory characteristics, the results are promising for integrating marine extracts with potential neuroprotective effects into functional foods. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Extraction and Application of Functional Components in Algae)
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23 pages, 1810 KiB  
Article
Wound Healing, Antioxidant, and Antiviral Properties of Bioactive Polysaccharides of Microalgae Strains Isolated from Greek Coastal Lagoons
by Gabriel Vasilakis, Sofia Marka, Alexandros Ntzouvaras, Maria-Eleftheria Zografaki, Eirini Kyriakopoulou, Katerina I. Kalliampakou, Georgios Bekiaris, Evangelos Korakidis, Niki Papageorgiou, Stefania Christofi, Niki Vassilaki, Georgia Moschopoulou, Ioannis Tzovenis, Athena Economou-Amilli, Seraphim Papanikolaou and Emmanouil Flemetakis
Mar. Drugs 2025, 23(2), 77; https://doi.org/10.3390/md23020077 - 10 Feb 2025
Viewed by 1417
Abstract
Microalgae have gained significant attention as sustainable sources of high value compounds, such as bioactive polysaccharides that are usually rich in sulfated groups and exhibit antioxidant properties. Here, 14 new microalgae strains of the genera Tetraselmis, Dunaliella, and Nannochloropsis, isolated from [...] Read more.
Microalgae have gained significant attention as sustainable sources of high value compounds, such as bioactive polysaccharides that are usually rich in sulfated groups and exhibit antioxidant properties. Here, 14 new microalgae strains of the genera Tetraselmis, Dunaliella, and Nannochloropsis, isolated from Greek coastal lagoons were analyzed to quantify and characterize their polysaccharide content. Heterogeneity was observed regarding the content of their total sugars (5.5–40.9 g/100 g dry biomass). The strains with a total sugar content above 20% were analyzed concerning the content of total, α- and β-glucans. Tetraselmis verrucosa f. rubens PLA1-2 and T. suecica T3-1 were rich in β-glucans (11%, and 8.1%, respectively). The polysaccharides of the two Tetraselmis strains were isolated and they were mainly composed of glucose and galactose. The isolated polysaccharides were fractionated using ion-exchange-chromatography. The anionic fraction from T. verrucosa f. rubens PLA1-2 was rich in sulfated polysaccharides, had antioxidant capacity, and exhibited healing properties. The anionic polysaccharides from the two Tetraselmis strains did not negatively influence the viability of human cells, while exhibiting antiviral properties against the replication of Hepatitis C Virus (HCV), with median efficient concentrations (EC50) at a range of 210–258 μg/mL. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Extraction and Application of Functional Components in Algae)
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20 pages, 1301 KiB  
Article
New Green Biorefinery Strategies to Valorize Bioactive Fractions from Palmaria palmata
by Melis Cokdinleyen, Gloria Domínguez-Rodríguez, Huseyin Kara, Elena Ibáñez and Alejandro Cifuentes
Mar. Drugs 2024, 22(10), 467; https://doi.org/10.3390/md22100467 - 11 Oct 2024
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1660
Abstract
A biorefinery process was developed to isolate phycobiliproteins, sulfated polysaccharides, and phenolic compounds from Palmaria palmata. The extraction process was carried out in three stages using ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) and pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) integrated with different natural deep eutectic solvents (NaDESs). [...] Read more.
A biorefinery process was developed to isolate phycobiliproteins, sulfated polysaccharides, and phenolic compounds from Palmaria palmata. The extraction process was carried out in three stages using ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) and pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) integrated with different natural deep eutectic solvents (NaDESs). In general, PLE provided higher phycobiliprotein contents than UAE in the first step of the process. In fact, the hydrolysis product of the PLE-NaDES extracts achieved a higher antioxidant capacity than that of the UAE-NaDES extracts. Particularly, glycerol:glucose (2:1) with 50% water in combination with PLE was the most suitable NaDES to recover the highest phycobiliprotein, protein, and sulfated polysaccharide contents from Palmaria palmata in the first and second steps of the biorefinery process. Finally, a PLE-NaDES using choline chloride:glycerol (1:2) with 60% water as the NaDES was employed for the recovery of antioxidant and neuroprotective phenolic compounds from the residue of the second step, obtaining a higher total phenolic content than employing PLE with ethanol/water (70:30, v/v) as the extraction solvent. Moreover, a forced stability study revealed that the NaDESs provided a protective effect compared to the water extracts against the degradation of phycobiliproteins, preserving their color over time. This study contributes to the recovery of high-value components from an undervalued biomarine source through a sustainable biorefinery process. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Extraction and Application of Functional Components in Algae)
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