New Mycosporin Amino Acid identified in a Trentino “Chlorella-like” Microalgae as source for ecologically friendly sunscreen

Microalgae belonging to diverse evolutionary linages represent a novel and promising source of bioactive compounds to be involved in nutraceutical and cosmetic composition. These small organisms are characterized with a fast grow rate, low doubling time and low nutrient requirements providing excellent preconditions as cell biofactory. Certain microalgae are known to be able to synthesize secondary metabolites under stress conditions. One of this class of metabolites are mycosporine-like amino acids (MAAs) isolated so far from several marine microorganisms. MAAs are highly promising compounds characterized by ultraviolet radiation (UV) absorbing capacities and are recognized as a potential source of ecologically friendly sunscreens [1]. MAAs absorb damaging UV radiation with maximum absorption in the range of 310 – 360 nm, including both UVA and UVB ranges. We characterized a microalgae strain from the genebank of FEM (NORCCA K-1801). The strain was tentatively assigned to the Scenedesmaceae family, whereas its classification within the Chlorella genus should be excluded. Further phylogenetic characterization is ongoing. Additionally, this strain was found to accumulate a yet unknown MAA which give raise to high potential of novel bioactivities. The MAA accumulation could be increased upon various stress, i.e., UV treatment, osmotic media conditions or combination of both ([Fig. 1]). After upscaling in up to 500 l fermenter isolation of the pure MAA will enable the structural elucidation and functional characterization of its bioactivities. The final aim is to test various MAA containing extracts as supplement in new crème as sunscreen.

Fig. 1 MAA accumulation under stress conditions; UV, osmotic stress and UV plus nitrogen (N) stress.

Publication History

Article published online:
12 December 2022

• Reference

• 1 Rosic NN. Recent advances in the discovery of novel marine natural products and mycosporine-like amino acid UV-absorbing compounds. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 2021; 105: 7053-7706