Enzymatic Hydrolysates from Fucus vesiculosus: Optimal Process, Chemical Profile and Bioactivity

Area of Science:

• Marine Biotechnology
• Food Science
• Biochemistry

Background:

• * Fucus vesiculosus (FV) is a brown macroalga abundant in bioactive compounds.
• * These compounds possess significant potential for various industrial applications.
• * Enzyme-assisted extraction is a promising method for obtaining water-soluble hydrolysates.

Purpose of the Study:

• * To optimize the production of enzyme-assisted water-soluble hydrolysates from Fucus vesiculosus.
• * To maximize the antioxidant activity of the hydrolysates using Box-Behnken experimental designs.
• * To evaluate the efficiency of single-enzyme (cellulase) versus dual-enzyme (cellulase and alcalase) treatments.

Main Methods:

• * Box-Behnken experimental design was employed to optimize enzyme concentration, temperature, and incubation time.
• * Two extraction methods were compared: cellulase alone (FVc) and a combination of cellulase and alcalase (FVca).
• * Key parameters measured included extraction yield, total phenolic content (FC-derived TPC), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), and oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC).

Main Results:

• * The dual-enzyme (FVca) treatment significantly enhanced extraction yield (39.41%) and antioxidant capacity (TAC: 142.80 µmol TE/g, ORAC: 477.64 µmol TE/g, FC-derived TPC: 252.57 mg GAE/g).
• * FVca hydrolysates were rich in essential amino acids, low-molecular-weight peptides, and phloroglucinol (6.23 mg/g).
• * Severe abiotic interference was observed in redox viability assays at high concentrations (10 mg/mL) for FVca hydrolysates.

Conclusions:

• * Combining cellulase and alcalase is an effective strategy for producing water-soluble, bioactive hydrolysates from Fucus vesiculosus.
• * The resulting FVca hydrolysate exhibits high antioxidant potential and a rich bioactive profile.
• * These findings suggest promising industrial and biotechnological applications for FVca hydrolysates, with a note on assay interference.