title: Profiling of carotenoids and antioxidant capacity of microalgae from subtropical coastal and brackish waters.
abstract: Carotenoids are associated with various health benefits, such as prevention of age-related macular degeneration, cataract, certain cancers, rheumatoid arthritis, muscular dystrophy and cardiovascular problems. As microalgae contain considerable amounts of carotenoids, there is a need to find species with high carotenoid content. Out of hundreds of Australian isolates, 12 microalgal species were screened for carotenoid profiles, carotenoid productivity, and in vitro antioxidant capacity (total phenolic content (TPC) and ORAC). The top four carotenoid producers at 4.68-6.88 mg/g dry weight (DW) were Dunaliella salina, Tetraselmis suecica, Isochrysis galbana, and Pavlova salina. TPC was low, with D. salina possessing the highest TPC (1.54 mg Gallic Acid Equivalents/g DW) and ORAC (577 μmol Trolox Equivalents/g DW). Results indicate that T. suecica, D. salina, P. salina and I. galbana could be further developed for commercial carotenoid production.
authors.affiliation: Algae Biotechnology Laboratory, School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia.
authors.forename: Faruq
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ahmed
authors.affiliation: Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF), Coopers Plains, Queensland 4108, Australia.
authors.forename: Kent
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Fanning
authors.affiliation: Centre for Nutrition and Food Sciences, Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation (QAAFI), The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Netzel
authors.affiliation: Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF), Coopers Plains, Queensland 4108, Australia.
authors.forename: Warwick
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Turner
authors.affiliation: Algae Biotechnology Laboratory, School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia; School of Marine and Tropical Biology, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Algae Biotechnology Laboratory, School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia. Electronic address: p.schenk@uq.edu.au.
authors.forename: Peer M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Schenk
mesh_terms: D000975:Antioxidants / Q000737:chemistry*; D002338:Carotenoids / Q000737:chemistry*; D058086:Microalgae / Q000737:chemistry*; D010636:Phenols / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; D010636:Phenols; D002338:Carotenoids
keywords: Antioxidant capacity; Carotenoids; Microalgae; ORAC; Total phenolics