Marine Phenolics: Intrinsic and Extrinsic Drivers of Variability in Content and Composition - Impacts on Bioactivity and Applications in Biotechnology

A special issue of Marine Drugs (ISSN 1660-3397).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 October 2021) | Viewed by 11448

Special Issue Editors

Botany and Plant Science, School of Natural Sciences and Ryan Institute; National University of Ireland Galway, Ireland
Interests: algae; seaweeds; microalgae; algal ecophysiology and biotechnology; high-value products from algae; biorefineries; biomass optimisation; drivers of algal chemodiversity
Laboratory of Marine Environmental Sciences (LEMAR), European Institute for Marine Studies (IUEM), University of Western Brittany (UBO), France
Interests: seaweeds; microalgae; algal ecophysiology; marine chemical ecology; marine algal biotechnology; phenolic compounds; pigments; MAAs

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Phenolic compounds are a class of diverse and complex secondary metabolites that have received significant research attention in recent years; particular emphasis has been placed on their characterisation and the evaluation of their multiple bioactivities, which offer potential across a range of commercial sectors, such as the food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries, and agricultural applications including animal and plant health.

Developments in extraction methodologies and analytical techniques have revealed a large chemical diversity across and within organisms. This may impact on their commercial utilisation, with recent studies demonstrating that phenol composition, rather than content, influences levels of specific bioactivities. Their stabilisation for commercial processing thus requires an improved understanding of the intrinsic and extrinsic factors that determine the observed temporal and spatial variability.

This Special Issue aims to evaluate our current understanding of natural diversity of marine phenolic compounds; the drivers of natural plasticity; evidence of impacts of composition on bioactivity; and mitigation measures that allow for optimisation and stabilisation procedures to be implemented to enable the sustainable and safe utilisation of these complex compounds with so much potential for high-value applications.

We invite researchers to contribute original research articles, as well as specialised reviews, on this topic.

Dr. Dagmar B Stengel
Dr. Solène Connan
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

  • Phenolic compounds
  • Chemical diversity
  • Environment
  • Composition
  • Bioactivity
  • Optimisation
  • Stability
  • Cultivation
  • Valorisation
  • Biotechnological application

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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20 pages, 3048 KiB  
Article
Phlorotannin and Pigment Content of Native Canopy-Forming Sargassaceae Species Living in Intertidal Rockpools in Brittany (France): Any Relationship with Their Vertical Distribution and Phenology?
by Camille Jégou, Solène Connan, Isabelle Bihannic, Stéphane Cérantola, Fabienne Guérard and Valérie Stiger-Pouvreau
Mar. Drugs 2021, 19(9), 504; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/md19090504 - 04 Sep 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1980
Abstract
Five native Sargassaceae species from Brittany (France) living in rockpools were surveyed over time to investigate photoprotective strategies according to their tidal position. We gave evidences for the existence of a species distribution between pools along the shore, with the most dense and [...] Read more.
Five native Sargassaceae species from Brittany (France) living in rockpools were surveyed over time to investigate photoprotective strategies according to their tidal position. We gave evidences for the existence of a species distribution between pools along the shore, with the most dense and smallest individuals in the highest pools. Pigment contents were higher in lower pools, suggesting a photo-adaptive process by which the decreasing light irradiance toward the low shore was compensated by a high production of pigments to ensure efficient photosynthesis. Conversely, no xanthophyll cycle-related photoprotective mechanism was highlighted because high levels of zeaxanthin rarely occurred in the upper shore. Phlorotannins were not involved in photoprotection either; only some lower-shore species exhibited a seasonal trend in phlorotannin levels. The structural complexity of phlorotannins appears more to be a taxonomic than an ecological feature: Ericaria produced simple phloroglucinol while Cystoseira and Gongolaria species exhibited polymers. Consequently, tide pools could be considered as light-protected areas on the intertidal zone, in comparison with the exposed emerged substrata where photoprotective mechanisms are essential. Full article
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15 pages, 2228 KiB  
Article
Induction of Phlorotannins and Gene Expression in the Brown Macroalga Fucus vesiculosus in Response to the Herbivore Littorina littorea
by Creis Bendelac Emeline, Delage Ludovic, Vallet Laurent, Leblanc Catherine, Inken Kruse, Ar Gall Erwan, Weinberger Florian and Potin Philippe
Mar. Drugs 2021, 19(4), 185; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/md19040185 - 26 Mar 2021
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2363
Abstract
Mechanisms related to the induction of phlorotannin biosynthesis in marine brown algae remain poorly known. Several studies undertaken on fucoid species have shown that phlorotannins accumulate in the algae for several days or weeks after being exposed to grazing, and this is measured [...] Read more.
Mechanisms related to the induction of phlorotannin biosynthesis in marine brown algae remain poorly known. Several studies undertaken on fucoid species have shown that phlorotannins accumulate in the algae for several days or weeks after being exposed to grazing, and this is measured by direct quantification of soluble phenolic compounds. In order to investigate earlier inducible responses involved in phlorotannin metabolism, Fucus vesiculosus was studied between 6 and 72 h of grazing by the sea snail Littorina littorea. In this study, the quantification of soluble phenolic compounds was complemented by a Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) approach applied on genes that are potentially involved in either the phlorotannin metabolism or stress responses. Soluble phlorotannin levels remained stable during the kinetics and increased significantly only after 12 h in the presence of grazers, compared to the control, before decreasing to the initial steady state for the rest of the kinetics. Under grazing conditions, the expression of vbpo, cyp450 and ast6 genes was upregulated, respectively, at 6 h, 12 h and 24 h, and cyp450 gene was downregulated after 72 h. Interestingly, the pksIII gene involved in the synthesis of phloroglucinol was overexpressed under grazing conditions after 24 h and 72 h. This study supports the hypothesis that phlorotannins are able to provide an inducible chemical defense under grazing activity, which is regulated at different stages of the stress response. Full article
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Review

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20 pages, 2822 KiB  
Review
Environmental Impact on Seaweed Phenolic Production and Activity: An Important Step for Compound Exploitation
by Silvia Lomartire, João Cotas, Diana Pacheco, João Carlos Marques, Leonel Pereira and Ana M. M. Gonçalves
Mar. Drugs 2021, 19(5), 245; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/md19050245 - 26 Apr 2021
Cited by 39 | Viewed by 6489
Abstract
Seaweeds are a potential source of bioactive compounds that are useful for biotechnological applications and can be employed in different industrial areas in order to replace synthetic compounds with components of natural origin. Diverse studies demonstrate that there is a solid ground for [...] Read more.
Seaweeds are a potential source of bioactive compounds that are useful for biotechnological applications and can be employed in different industrial areas in order to replace synthetic compounds with components of natural origin. Diverse studies demonstrate that there is a solid ground for the exploitation of seaweed bioactive compounds in order to prevent illness and to ensure a better and healthier lifestyle. Among the bioactive algal molecules, phenolic compounds are produced as secondary metabolites with beneficial effects on plants, and also on human beings and animals, due to their inherent bioactive properties, which exert antioxidant, antiviral, and antimicrobial activities. The use of phenolic compounds in pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, cosmetics, and food industries may provide outcomes that could enhance human health. Through the production of healthy foods and natural drugs, bioactive compounds from seaweeds can help with the treatment of human diseases. This review aims to highlight the importance of phenolic compounds from seaweeds, the scope of their production in nature and the impact that these compounds can have on human and animal health through nutraceutical and pharmaceutical products. Full article
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