Natural products of "Arthrospira máxima" and their applications in the sectors of pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and nutraceuticals

Abstract

The cyanobacteria A. maxima, with a long history of use as a food supplement and a high nutritional value and energy, due to its protein content, contains metabolites with significant nutraceutical value, owing to its antioxidant, antifungal and antiviral activity. The aim of this study was the extraction, purification, identification and structural elucidation of natural products of the Arthrospira maxima and its potential nutraceutical properties, pharmaceutical and cosmetic. To this end, pure products were extracted by chromatography and repurified by preparative TLC. 35 g of a raw extract were obtained after extracting, with a Soxhlet, the commercial biomass of A. maxima (1600 g) with acetone. Of this, pure metabolites were purified by preparative TLC analysis from 2 mL of a solution of the raw extract/ chromatographic fraction/ pure metabolites (20 mg x mL-1) of the cyanobacteria. This solution (3μL) was applied to an analytical TLC plate and eluted with hexane/ acetone (75:25). The compounds that were separated were identified by observing the TLC plates under daylight, under UV radiation (240 or 370 nm) or through the application of an oleum spray followed by heating the sample to 120º for 20 minutes. Pure metabolites were obtained from the crude extract from successive columns of silica gel by eluting it with mixtures of hexane: dichloromethane: acetone: methanol. Several fractions (21) were obtained after their monitoring by TLC analysis. The pure metabolites were identified by nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR y 13C-NMR). In conclusion, have been isolated and identified pure A. maxima’s metabolites, and were identified, among which, carotenoids, xanthophylls, chlorophylls, sulfoglycolipids, and free fatty acids have been found.