title: Large-scale bioprospecting of cyanobacteria, micro- and macroalgae from the Aegean Sea.
abstract: Marine organisms constitute approximately one-half of the total global biodiversity, being rich reservoirs of structurally diverse biofunctional components. The potential of cyanobacteria, micro- and macroalgae as sources of antimicrobial, antitumoral, anti-inflammatory, and anticoagulant compounds has been reported extensively. Nonetheless, biological activities of marine fauna and flora of the Aegean Sea have remained poorly studied when in comparison to other areas of the Mediterranean Sea. In this study, we screened the antimicrobial, antifouling, anti-inflammatory and anticancer potential of in total 98 specimens collected from the Aegean Sea. Ethanol extract of diatom Amphora cf capitellata showed the most promising antimicrobial results against Candida albicans while the extract of diatom Nitzschia communis showed effective results against Gram-positive bacterium, S. aureus. Extracts from the red alga Laurencia papillosa and from three Cystoseira species exhibited selective antiproliferative activity against cancer cell lines and an extract from the brown alga Dilophus fasciola showed the highest anti-inflammatory activity as measured in primary microglial and astrocyte cell cultures as well as by the reduction of proinflammatory cytokines. In summary, our study demonstrates that the Aegean Sea is a rich source of species that possess interesting potential for developing industrial applications.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Drug Research, Division of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 56, FI-00014 Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Sofia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Montalvão
authors.affiliation: Bioengineering Department, Engineering Faculty, Ege University, 35100 Bornova, Izmir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Zeliha
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Demirel
authors.affiliation: CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography, Dona Paula, 403004 Goa, India.
authors.forename: Prabha
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Devi
authors.affiliation: Euroespes Biotechnology, Department of Cellular Immunology, 15165 Bergondo, A Coruña, Spain.
authors.forename: Valter
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Lombardi
authors.affiliation: VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Knowledge Intensive Products and Services, FI-20520 Turku, Finland.
authors.forename: Vesa
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Hongisto
authors.affiliation: VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Knowledge Intensive Products and Services, FI-20520 Turku, Finland.
authors.forename: Merja
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Perälä
authors.affiliation: VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Solutions for Natural Resources and Environment, FI-20520 Turku, Finland.
authors.forename: Johannes
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hattara
authors.affiliation: Bioengineering Department, Engineering Faculty, Ege University, 35100 Bornova, Izmir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Esra
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Imamoglu
authors.affiliation: CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography, Dona Paula, 403004 Goa, India.
authors.forename: Supriya Shet
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Tilvi
authors.affiliation: Aquaculture Department, Fisheries Faculty, Ege University, 35100 Bornova, Izmir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Gamze
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Turan
authors.affiliation: Bioengineering Department, Engineering Faculty, Ege University, 35100 Bornova, Izmir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Meltem Conk
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Dalay
authors.affiliation: Centre for Drug Research, Division of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 56, FI-00014 Helsinki, Finland. Electronic address: paivi.tammela@helsinki.fi.
authors.forename: Päivi
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Tammela
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D057219:Biofouling; D001709:Biotechnology / Q000379:methods*; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D000458:Cyanobacteria / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D058086:Microalgae / Q000378:metabolism*; D009792:Oceans and Seas; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012624:Seaweed / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D000935:Antifungal Agents; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents