Development of an efficient process to extract C-phycocyanin from marine cyanobacterial strains and evaluation of its bioactive potential

BACKGROUND

Phycocyanin (PC), a natural blue photosynthetic pigment found in cyanobacteria, rhodophyta and cryptophyta has numerous applications in biotechnology and the food industry. The phycocyanin extraction method has a significant impact on its bioactivities, purity index, cost and potential applications; thus, the development of an efficient extraction strategy continues to be a primary research goal.

RESULTS

This study evaluated the efficacy of different methods for the extraction of cyanobacterial phycocyanin (C-PC) from three marine cyanobacterial isolates, namely Arthrospira platensis, Phormidium sp. and Pseudoscillatoria sp. wet biomass. The pretreatment step of soaking biomass in extraction buffer for 60 min, followed by a combination of freeze–thaw (one cycle; 2 h) and sonication (2 min) treatment was found to be the most effective extraction strategy, producing the highest C-PC yield (16.19 ± 0.34%, 15.89 ± 0.61% and 15.56 ± 0.69% dry cell weight for strains A. platensis, Phormidium sp. and Pseudoscillatoria sp., respectively). Furthermore, a biomass-to-solvent ratio of 0.02 g mL⁻¹ was optimal to attain food-grade purity ((A₆₂₀/A₂₈₀) ≥ 0.7). Bioactivity evaluation of crude and purified C-PC exhibited its potential as antioxidant compounds and as an antimicrobial agent with significant inhibitory effects against various pathogenic microorganisms.

CONCLUSION

The study proposed an efficient and cost-effective C-PC extraction process for cyanobacteria and highlighted the potential of C-PC as a valuable bioactive compound with various applications. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry (SCI).