Green (Ulva fenestrata) and Brown (Saccharina latissima) Macroalgae Similarly Modulate Inflammatory Signaling by Activating NF-κB and Dampening IRF in Human Macrophage-Like Cells.

Macroalgae are considered healthy food ingredients due to their content in numerous bioactive compounds, and the traditional use of whole macroalgae in Asian cuisine suggests a contribution to longevity. Although much information is available about the bioactivity of pure algal compounds, such as different polyphenols and polysaccharides, documentation of potential effects of whole macroalgae as part of Western diets is limited. Lifestyle- and age-related diseases, which have a high impact on population health, are closely connected to underlying chronic inflammation. Therefore, we have studied crude extracts of green (Ulva fenestrata) and brown (Saccharina latissima) macroalgae, as two of the most promising food macroalgae in the Nordic countries for their effect on inflammation in vitro. Human macrophage-like reporter THP-1 cells were treated with macroalgae extracts and stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to induce inflammatory signalling. Effects of the macroalgae extracts were assessed on transcription factor activity of NF-κB and IRF as well as secretion and/or expression of the cytokines TNF-α and IFN-ß and chemokines IL-8 and CXCL10. The crude macroalgae extracts were further separated into polyphenol-enriched and polysaccharide-enriched fractions, which were also tested for their effect on transcription factor activity. Interestingly, we observed a selective activation of NF-κB, when cells were treated with macroalgae extracts. On the other hand, pretreatment with macroalgae extracts selectively repressed IRF activation when inflammatory signaling was subsequently induced by LPS. This effect was consistent for both tested species as well as for polyphenol- and polysaccharide-enriched fractions, of which the latter had more pronounced effects. Overall, this is the first indication of how macroalgae could modulate inflammatory signaling by selective activation and subsequent repression of different pathways. Further in vitro and in vivo studies of this mechanism would be needed to understand how macroalgae consumption could influence the prevention of noncommunicable, lifestyle- and age-related diseases that are highly related to unbalanced inflammatory processes.

Recovery of nutrients from fish sludge to enhance the growth of microalga Chlorella sorokiniana CMBB276.

Intensive aquaculture production generates large amounts of sludge. This waste could be considered as a potential source of nutrients that can be recovered and utilized. Little attention has been paid to nutrient recovery from fish sludge. In this study, bioconversion of sludge was evaluated in lab scale under anaerobic (AN), facultative anaerobic (FA) and aerobic (AE) conditions. After 40 days of fermentation, AN recovered the highest values of dissolved total nitrogen (82.7 mg L-1), while AE showed the highest dissolved total phosphorus (11.8 mg L-1) and the highest reduction of total suspended solids (36.0 %). Microbial analysis showed that AN exhibited a distinct bacterial community than that of FA and AE. Furthermore, C. sorokiniana grown in AN effluents collected after 12 days of fermentation achieved the highest biomass production (1.96 g L-1). These results suggest that AN has the best potential to recover nutrients from sludge for production of C. sorokiniana.

Microalgae, Seaweeds and Aquatic Bacteria, Archaea, and Yeasts: Sources of Carotenoids with Potential Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Health-Promoting Actions in the Sustainability Era.

Carotenoids are a large group of health-promoting compounds used in many industrial sectors, such as foods, feeds, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, nutraceuticals, and colorants. Considering the global population growth and environmental challenges, it is essential to find new sustainable sources of carotenoids beyond those obtained from agriculture. This review focuses on the potential use of marine archaea, bacteria, algae, and yeast as biological factories of carotenoids. A wide variety of carotenoids, including novel ones, were identified in these organisms. The role of carotenoids in marine organisms and their potential health-promoting actions have also been discussed. Marine organisms have a great capacity to synthesize a wide variety of carotenoids, which can be obtained in a renewable manner without depleting natural resources. Thus, it is concluded that they represent a key sustainable source of carotenoids that could help Europe achieve its Green Deal and Recovery Plan. Additionally, the lack of standards, clinical studies, and toxicity analysis reduces the use of marine organisms as sources of traditional and novel carotenoids. Therefore, further research on the processing of marine organisms, the biosynthetic pathways, extraction procedures, and examination of their content is needed to increase carotenoid productivity, document their safety, and decrease costs for their industrial implementation.

Improving awareness, understanding, and enforcement of responsibilities and regulations in Blue Biotechnology.

Blue Biotechnology is developing rapidly worldwide. However, the Nagoya Protocol (NP), Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) and other regulatory requirements in this field are falling behind. This article identifies the main RRI, NP, and regulatory gaps and provides key recommendations to mitigate these challenges.

Responsible Research and Innovation Framework, the Nagoya Protocol and Other European Blue Biotechnology Strategies and Regulations: Gaps Analysis and Recommendations for Increased Knowledge in the Marine Biotechnology Community.

As the quest for marine-derived compounds with pharmacological and biotechnological potential upsurges, the importance of following regulations and applying Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) also increases. This article aims at: (1) presenting an overview of regulations and policies at the international and EU level, while demonstrating a variability in their implementation; (2) highlighting the importance of RRI in biodiscovery; and (3) identifying gaps and providing recommendations on how to improve the market acceptability and compliance of novel Blue Biotechnology compounds. This article is the result of the work of the Working Group 4 "Legal aspects, IPR and Ethics" of the COST Action CA18238 Ocean4Biotech, a network of more than 130 Marine Biotechnology scientists and practitioners from 37 countries. Three qualitative surveys ("Understanding of the Responsible Research and Innovation concept", "Application of the Nagoya Protocol in Your Research", and "Brief Survey about the experiences regarding the Nagoya Protocol") indicate awareness and application gaps of RRI, the Nagoya Protocol, and the current status of EU policies relating to Blue Biotechnology. The article categorises the identified gaps into five main categories (awareness, understanding, education, implementation, and enforcement of the Nagoya Protocol) and provides recommendations for mitigating them at the European, national, and organisational level.

Chemical profiling of the Arctic sea lettuce Ulva lactuca (Chlorophyta) mass-cultivated on land under controlled conditions for food applications.

The increasing use of seaweeds in European cuisine led to cultivation initiatives funded by the European Union. Ulva lactuca, commonly known as sea lettuce, is a fast growing seaweed in the North Atlantic that chefs are bringing into the local cuisine. Here, different strains of Arctic U. lactuca were mass-cultivated under controlled conditions for up to 10 months. We quantified various chemical constituents associated with both health benefits (carbohydrates, protein, fatty acids, minerals) and health risks (heavy metals). Chemical analyses showed that long-term cultivation provided biomass of consistently high food quality and nutritional value. Concentrations of macroelements (C, N, P, Ca, Na, K, Mg) and micronutrients (Fe, Zn, Co, Mn, I) were sufficient to contribute to daily dietary mineral intake. Heavy metals (As, Cd, Hg and Pb) were found at low levels to pose health risk. The nutritional value of Ulva in terms of carbohydrates, protein and fatty acids is comparable to some selected fruits, vegetables, nuts and grains.

Data on the sensory characteristics and chemical composition of the edible red seaweed dulse (Palmaria palmata) after dry and semi-dry storage.

The data article refers to the paper "Semi-dry storage as a maturation process for improving the sensory characteristics of the edible red seaweed dulse (Palmaria palmata)" [1]. The data refers to the analysis of samples of the edible seaweed species Palmaria palmata during storage in a dry (D, containing ca. 6 % moisture) and semi-dry state (SD, containing ca. 20 % moisture). The article includes data from the analysis of samples taken at 0, 12, 61 and 126 days of storage to evaluate the effect of moisture content and storage time on the sensory characteristics of the product. The variations in flavor, odor and texture between samples were measured by sensory evaluation. Data from the analysis of flavor-active compounds (free amino acids and volatile compounds), macronutrient content (soluble proteins and carbohydrates, lipid and mineral fractions), physico-chemical properties (water activity, water and oil-binding capacities, swelling capacity), color and microbial load are also reported. The information provided in this article can be used by industrial stakeholders (seaweed producers, food industry) to optimize processing and storage conditions of edible seaweeds and by scientists to build upon further knowledge to improve the quality of seaweeds in food applications.

Strong population structure but no equilibrium yet: Genetic connectivity and phylogeography in the kelp Saccharina latissima (Laminariales, Phaeophyta).

Kelp aquaculture is globally developing steadily as human food source, along with other applications. One of the newer crop species is Saccharina latissima, a northern hemisphere kelp inhabiting temperate to arctic rocky shores. To protect and document its natural genetic variation at the onset of this novel aquaculture, as well as increase knowledge on its taxonomy and phylogeography, we collected new genetic data, both nuclear and mitochondrial, and combined it with previous knowledge to estimate genetic connectivity and infer colonization history. Isolation-with-migration coalescent analyses demonstrate that gene flow among the sampled locations is virtually nonexistent. An updated scenario for the origin and colonization history of S. latissima is developed as follows: We propose that the species (or species complex) originated in the northwest Pacific, crossed to the northeast Pacific in the Miocene, and then crossed the Bering Strait after its opening ~5.5 Ma into the Arctic and northeast Atlantic. It subsequently crossed the Atlantic from east to west. During the Pleistocene, it was compressed in the south with evidence for northern refugia in Europe. Postglacial recolonization led to secondary contact in the Canadian Arctic. Saccharina cichorioides is shown to probably belong to the S. latissima species complex and to derive from ancestral populations in the Asian North Pacific. Our novel approach of comparing inferred gene flow based on coalescent analysis versus Wright's island model suggests that equilibrium levels of differentiation have not yet been reached in Europe and, hence, that genetic differentiation is expected to increase further if populations are left undisturbed.

Iodine content in bulk biomass of wild-harvested and cultivated edible seaweeds: Inherent variations determine species-specific daily allowable consumption.

This study represents a large-scale investigation into iodine contents in three commercially important and edible seaweed species from the North Atlantic: the brown algae Saccharina latissima and Alaria esculenta, and the red alga Palmaria palmata. Variability among and within species were explored in terms of temporal and spatial variations in addition to biomass source. Mean iodine concentration in bulk seaweed biomass was species-specific: Saccharina > Alaria > Palmaria. Iodine contents of Saccharina biomass were similar between years and seasons, but varied significantly between sampling locations and biomass sources. In Alaria and Palmaria, none of the independent variables examined contributed significantly to the small variations observed. Our data suggest that all three species are rich sources of iodine, and only 32, 283, or 2149 mg dry weight of unprocessed dry biomass of Saccharina, Alaria, or Palmaria, respectively, meets the recommended daily intake levels for most healthy humans.

Seaweeds: an opportunity for wealth and sustainable livelihood for coastal communities.

The European, Canadian, and Latin American seaweed industries rely on the sustainable harvesting of natural resources. As several countries wish to increase their activity, the harvest should be managed according to integrated and participatory governance regimes to ensure production within a long-term perspective. Development of regulations and directives enabling the sustainable exploitation of natural resources must therefore be brought to the national and international political agenda in order to ensure environmental, social, and economic values in the coastal areas around the world. In Europe, Portugal requires an appraisal of seaweed management plans while Norway and Canada have developed and implemented coastal management plans including well-established and sustainable exploitation of their natural seaweed resources. Whereas, in Latin America, different scenarios of seaweed exploitation can be observed; each country is however in need of long-term and ecosystem-based management plans to ensure that exploitation is sustainable. These plans are required particularly in Peru and Brazil, while Chile has succeeded in establishing a sustainable seaweed-harvesting plan for most of the economically important seaweeds. Furthermore, in both Europe and Latin America, seaweed aquaculture is at its infancy and development will have to overcome numerous challenges at different levels (i.e., technology, biology, policy). Thus, there is a need for regulations and establishment of "best practices" for seaweed harvesting, management, and cultivation. Trained human resources will also be required to provide information and education to the communities involved, to enable seaweed utilization to become a profitable business and provide better income opportunities to coastal communities.

Potential for green microalgae to produce hydrogen, pharmaceuticals and other high value products in a combined process.

Green microalgae for several decades have been produced for commercial exploitation, with applications ranging from health food for human consumption, aquaculture and animal feed, to coloring agents, cosmetics and others. Several products from green algae which are used today consist of secondary metabolites that can be extracted from the algal biomass. The best known examples are the carotenoids astaxanthin and ß-carotene, which are used as coloring agents and for health-promoting purposes. Many species of green algae are able to produce valuable metabolites for different uses; examples are antioxidants, several different carotenoids, polyunsaturated fatty acids, vitamins, anticancer and antiviral drugs. In many cases, these substances are secondary metabolites that are produced when the algae are exposed to stress conditions linked to nutrient deprivation, light intensity, temperature, salinity and pH. In other cases, the metabolites have been detected in algae grown under optimal conditions, and little is known about optimization of the production of each product, or the effects of stress conditions on their production. Some green algae have shown the ability to produce significant amounts of hydrogen gas during sulfur deprivation, a process which is currently studied extensively worldwide. At the moment, the majority of research in this field has focused on the model organism, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, but other species of green algae also have this ability. Currently there is little information available regarding the possibility for producing hydrogen and other valuable metabolites in the same process. This study aims to explore which stress conditions are known to induce the production of different valuable products in comparison to stress reactions leading to hydrogen production. Wild type species of green microalgae with known ability to produce high amounts of certain valuable metabolites are listed and linked to species with ability to produce hydrogen during general anaerobic conditions, and during sulfur deprivation. Species used today for commercial purposes are also described. This information is analyzed in order to form a basis for selection of wild type species for a future multi-step process, where hydrogen production from solar energy is combined with the production of valuable metabolites and other commercial uses of the algal biomass.