Green Solvents for Sustainable Production of Microalgae Products with Enhanced Properties

Publications

Editorial: The biorefineries and application of green technologies for recovering bioactive compounds from microalgae

Publication . Vladic, Jelena; Gouveia, Luisa

ABSTRACT: Microalgae are attracting growing scientific and industrial interest as a renewable and versatile source of high-value bioactive compounds, including pigments, fatty acids, proteins, and antioxidants. Their rapid growth, ability to adapt to extreme conditions, and rich biochemical composition make them a promising resource for sustainable development across a range of applications. From cosmetics to food supplements, their potential spans multiple industries. Still, the considerable gap between encouraging laboratory research and commercially viable production remains. One of the major challenges lies in developing methods for extracting and preserving these compounds in ways that are both efficient and environmentally responsible.

2025-07Journal editorial

Open access

Pretreatment Tunes scCO2 Extract Composition and Bioactivity in Three Microalgae: Chemometric and Molecular Docking Insights

Publication . Vladic, Jelena; Radman, Sanja; Besu, Irina; Stanojkovic, Tatjana; Zloh, Mire; Jerkovic, Igor; Karadžić Banjac, Milica; Ivkovic, Milena; Pereira, Hugo; Gouveia, Luisa

ABSTRACT: This study explores the impact of enzymatic (ENZ), microwave (MW), and ultrasound (US) pretreatments on supercritical CO2 (scCO2) extraction efficiency, chemical composition, and cytotoxic activity of Tetraselmis sp., Tetradesmus obliquus, and Chlorococcum sp. Pretreatments significantly enhanced extraction yields, with ENZ being most effective for Tetraselmis and Chlorococcum, and MW for T. obliquus. UPLC-HRMS profiling revealed species- and pretreatment-specific shifts: ENZ and US improved pigment recovery in Tetraselmis, while MW enriched carotenoids and chlorophyll derivatives. In Chlorococcum, MW boosted pigment diversity, whereas ENZ and US favored fatty acid derivatives in the extracts. Multivariate analysis confirmed significant compositional changes, particularly after ENZ and MW pretreatments. Tetraselmis extracts, especially those pretreated with MW, exhibited the strongest cytotoxic activity and highest selectivity indices against HeLa and MDA-MB-453 cancer cell lines. Correlation analysis identified compounds such as 2,3-dihydroxypropyl stearate, fucoxanthin, and (3 beta)-3-hydroxystigmast-5-en-7-one as strongly linked to cytotoxicity. Molecular docking further showed that abundant compounds in Tetraselmis extracts have high predicted affinities for cancer-related targets (e.g., BCL2, EGFR, PDK1). The results suggest that cytotoxic effects arise from both specific bioactive compounds and their synergistic interactions. These findings show that pretreatments can purposefully tune scCO2 extracts and provide a data-driven basis for designing more sustainable microalgal extraction workflows.

2025-11Journal article

Open access