Phycocyanin: A Natural Antioxidant to Combat Free Radicals

Dingling Zhuang, Doris Ying Ying Tang, Kit Wayne Chew*, Tau Chuan Ling*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalShort surveypeer-review

3 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Various research showed that antioxidants can effectively overcome the damage caused by free radicals to human health. Therefore, antioxidants are identified as one of the main directions in the development of health care and cosmetics products due to high demand in the market. This review mainly focuses on the phycocyanin, a type of natural antioxidant mainly found in cyanobacteria. This mini review summarizes the phycocyanin sources and numerous extraction methods of phycocyanin along with the analytical methods and determine its ability to suppress free radicals. Phycocyanin has been proven to play an important role in scavenging free radicals and enhancing the body’s antioxidant capacity. However, there is a lack of long-term randomized clinical trial results that can be used as evidence in showing the benefits of phycocyanin. The existing phycocyanin extraction methods using solvents, ultrasonic-assisted, freeze-thaw, etc. can extract high-quality phycocyanin efficiently and quickly. Scientists are also trying to incorporate advanced technologies, such as "Industry 4.0" to optimize and enhance the industrial production of phycocyanin. Lastly, this review also describes the difficulties faced during the phycocyanin production or extraction process and financial obstacles in order to achieve the popularization of phycocyanin.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)338-344
Number of pages7
JournalCurrent Nutrition and Food Science
Volume18
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - May 2022
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Bentham Science Publishers.

ASJC Scopus Subject Areas

  • Food Science
  • Nutrition and Dietetics
  • Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

Keywords

  • Algae nutrition
  • anti-aging
  • free radicals
  • Industry 4.0
  • oxidation
  • supplements

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