Exploring and strengthening the potential of R-phycocyanin from Nori flakes as a food colourant

Luka Veličković; Ana Simović; Nikola Gligorijević; Aurélien Thureau; Milica Obradović; Tamara Vasović; Georgios Sotiroudis; Maria Zoumpanioti; Annie Brûlet; Tanja Ćirković Veličković; Sophie Combet; Milan Nikolić; Simeon Minić

doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2023.136669

Exploring and strengthening the potential of R-phycocyanin from Nori flakes as a food colourant

Food Chem. 2023 Nov 15:426:136669. doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2023.136669. Epub 2023 Jun 19.

Affiliations

¹ University of Belgrade - Faculty of Chemistry, Center of Excellence for Molecular Food Sciences & Department of Biochemistry, Studentski trg 12-16, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia. Electronic address: luka@chem.bg.ac.rs.
² University of Belgrade - Faculty of Chemistry, Center of Excellence for Molecular Food Sciences & Department of Biochemistry, Studentski trg 12-16, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia. Electronic address: asimovic@chem.bg.ac.rs.
³ University of Belgrade - Institute of Chemistry, Technology, and Metallurgy, National Institute of the Republic of Serbia, Department of Chemistry, Studentski trg 12-16, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia. Electronic address: nikola.gligorijevic@ihtm.bg.ac.rs.
⁴ SWING Beamline, Synchrotron SOLEIL, Saint-Aubin BP 48, 91192 Gif-sur-Yvette, France. Electronic address: aurelien.thureau@synchrotron-soleil.fr.
⁵ University of Belgrade - Faculty of Chemistry, Center of Excellence for Molecular Food Sciences & Department of Biochemistry, Studentski trg 12-16, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia.
⁶ National Hellenic Research Foundation (NHRF), Institute of Chemical Biology, 48 Vassileos Constantinou Ave., Athens 11635, Greece. Electronic address: gsotir@eie.gr.
⁷ National Hellenic Research Foundation (NHRF), Institute of Chemical Biology, 48 Vassileos Constantinou Ave., Athens 11635, Greece. Electronic address: mariaz@eie.gr.
⁸ Université Paris-Saclay, Laboratoire Léon-Brillouin, UMR12 CEA-CNRS, CEA-Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette CEDEX, France. Electronic address: annie.brulet@cea.fr.
⁹ University of Belgrade - Faculty of Chemistry, Center of Excellence for Molecular Food Sciences & Department of Biochemistry, Studentski trg 12-16, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia; Centre for Food Chemistry and Technology, Ghent University Global Campus, Incheon, South Korea; Department of Food Technology, Safety and Health, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, geb. A, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium; Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia. Electronic address: tcirkov@chem.bg.ac.rs.
¹⁰ Université Paris-Saclay, Laboratoire Léon-Brillouin, UMR12 CEA-CNRS, CEA-Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette CEDEX, France. Electronic address: sophie.combet@cea.fr.
¹¹ University of Belgrade - Faculty of Chemistry, Center of Excellence for Molecular Food Sciences & Department of Biochemistry, Studentski trg 12-16, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia. Electronic address: mnikolic@chem.bg.ac.rs.
¹² University of Belgrade - Faculty of Chemistry, Center of Excellence for Molecular Food Sciences & Department of Biochemistry, Studentski trg 12-16, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia. Electronic address: sminic@chem.bg.ac.rs.

PMID: 37352716
DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2023.136669

Abstract

This study aimed to purify, characterise and stabilise the natural food colourant, R-phycocyanin (R-PC), from the red algae Porphyra spp. (Nori). We purified R-PC from dried Nori flakes with a high purity ratio (A₆₁₈/A₂₈₀ ≥ 3.4) in native form (α-helix content 53%). SAXS measurements revealed that R-PC is trimeric ((αβ)₃) in solution. The thermal denaturation of α-helix revealed one transition (T_m at 52 °C), while the pH stability study showed R-PC is stable in the pH range 4-8. The thermal treatment of R-PC at 60 °C has detrimental and irreversible effects on R-PC colour and antioxidant capacity (22 % of residual capacity). However, immobilisation of R-PC within calcium alginate beads completely preserves R-PC colour and mainly retains its antioxidant ability (78 % of residual capacity). Results give new insights into the stability of R-PC and preservation of its purple colour and bioactivity by encapsulation in calcium alginate beads.

Keywords: Calcium alginate; Immobilization; Purification; R-phycocyanin; SAXS; Stability.

MeSH terms

Antioxidants
Food Coloring Agents*
Phycocyanin / chemistry
Porphyra* / chemistry
Scattering, Small Angle
Vegetables
X-Ray Diffraction

Substances

Phycocyanin
Food Coloring Agents
Antioxidants