Proceedings of International Congress on Bioactive Compounds and International Workshop on Bioactive Compounds
Proceedings of 1st International Congress on Bioactive Compounds and 2nd International Workshop on Bioactive Compounds - Vol. 1 - 2018

Microalgae are a promising source of several nutritional and beneficial health components, showing great potential as functional food ingredients capable of controlling dysfunctions related to oxidative damage and modulation of the serum lipid profile. In this sense, the present work investigated the bioactive compounds present in the Scenedesmus obliquus microalgae biomass and evaluated the effect of its intake on the serum lipid profile and tissues antioxidant status in an experimental model in vivo. Microalga cultivation was conducted in a hybrid photobioreactor. Fatty acids, amino acids, and carotenoids of microalgae biomass were determined. Also, it was evaluated the antioxidant potential of the carotenoid presents in the microalgae extract. Male BALB/cAnUnib mice were divided into control and microalgae biomass treated groups (T1=400 and T2=800 mg.kg-1bw.d-1). After four weeks, animals were submitted at 6h fasting, subsequently anesthetized with intraperitoneal injection of the ketamine and xylazine, and euthanized by exsanguination (cardiac puncture)Lipid profile (total cholesterol, triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein, and high-density lipoprotein) and hepatic enzyme activity (glutamic pyruvic transaminase and glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase) were determined in serum samples. Antioxidant enzymes, oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) were determined in the heart, liver, kidneys, and spleen. Microalgae biomass showed a high content of bioactive compounds with a positive influence on human health, such as polyunsaturated fatty acids (384.6 mg.g-1), amino acids (501.8 mg.g-1), and carotenoids (2650.7 µg.g-1) with high antioxidant potential (1779.9 µmolTE.g-1). In serum, the T1 dose of microalgae biomass promoted an increase in HDL. The T1 treatment increased GPx (kidney) and antioxidant potential of all tissues, while T2 treatment was able to raise the GR (liver) and GPx (kidneys) activities, as well as the heart antioxidant potential. The two doses presented a significant decrease in TBARS in all tissues. Based on the results, it is suggested that the biomass of S. obliquus is a potential source of bioactive compounds capable of modulating the serum lipid profile of mice positively, as well as exerting a protective effect against tissue lipid peroxidation.
Financial support: The authors are grateful to the MCTI/CNPq/MEC/CAPES/PROCAD (Brazil) (312564/2015-5), PNPD/CAPES and CNPq (301108/2016-1.