RT Journal Article
T1 An extremely acidic environment microalga from Tinto River as a novel source of anti-inflammatory activity
A1 Robles Garrido, María
A1 Viegas, Carla S.B.
A1 Torronteras Santiago, Rafael
A1 Garbayo Nores, Inés
A1 Vega Piqueres, José María
A1 Simes, Dina C.
A1 Vílchez Lobato, Carlos
AB Coccomyxa onubensis (C. onubensis) is an acidotolerant microalga isolated from the extremely acidic Tinto River (Huelva), which contains high levels of metals in solution, mainly Fe and Cu. This makes C. onubensis an adequate candidate to easily cope with high levels of oxidative stress by increasing the levels of certain molecules and enzymes, which helps them elicit an adequate antioxidant biochemical response. Thus, C. onubensis is a promising source of bioactive compounds which exhibit in vitro anti-inflammatory activity, including fatty acids, (poly)phenolic compounds and carotenoids. In this study, the correlations between the antioxidant response and anti-inflammatory activity of cell extracts obtained from Fe (III)-stressed microalgal cultures were analyzed. The results suggested a direct relationship between the antioxidant capacity of the microalgal extracts and Fe (III) concentration in the culture medium. Consequently, the production of some of the target antioxidant molecules, including carotenes, xanthophylls and (poly)phenols, increased. The levels of these molecules increased the most in cell extracts obtained from microalgal cultures at 0.25 mM of Fe (III), which was correlated with a 50 % increase in the anti-inflammatory activity of the microalgal extracts in THP-1 differentiated human macrophages. Fe (III)-modulated oxidative stress allowed us to define culture conditions that can enhance the anti-inflammatory activity of C. onubensis extracts, which are enriched in valuable antioxidant molecules. Overall, this study highlighted the utility of a microalgal species from a highly acidic environment as a novel, natural source of anti-inflammatory agents, based on its ability to cope with the oxidative conditions of its habitat.
PB Elsevier
SN 0981-9428
YR 2025
FD 2025-03-21
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10272/27791
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10272/27791
LA eng
NO María Robles, Carla S.B. Viegas, Rafael Torronteras, Inés Garbayo, José M. Vega, Dina C. Simes, Carlos Vílchez, An extremely acidic environment microalga from Tinto River as a novel source of anti-inflammatory activity, Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, Volume 223, 2025, 109815, ISSN 0981-9428, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.plaphy.2025.109815
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Huelva
RD 30 may 2026