Fucoxanthin, A Carotenoid Derived from Phaeodactylum tricornutum Exerts Antiproliferative and Antioxidant Activities In Vitro
Open accessAbstract
Microalgae contain a multitude of nutrients and can be grown sustainably. Fucoxanthin, a carotenoid from Phaeodactylum tricornutum, could have beneficial health effects. Therefore, we investigated the anti-inflammatory, antioxidative and antiproliferative effects of fucoxanthin derived from this diatom in vitro. The effects of purified fucoxanthin on metabolic activity were assessed in blood mononuclear cells and different cell lines. In cell lines, caspase 3/7 activity was also analyzed. Nitrogen monoxide release and mRNA-expression of proinflammatory cytokines were measured. For antioxidant assays, cell free assays were conducted. Additionally, the antioxidant effect in neutrophils was quantified and glutathione was determined in HeLa cells. The results show that neither did fucoxanthin have anti-inflammatory properties nor did it exert cytotoxic effects on mononuclear cells. However, the metabolic activity of cell lines was decreased up to 58% and fucoxanthin increased the caspase 3/7 activity up to 4.6-fold. Additionally, dose-dependent antioxidant effects were detected, resulting in a 63% decrease in chemiluminescence in blood neutrophils and a 3.3-fold increase in the ratio of reduced to oxidized glutathione. Our studies show that fucoxanthin possesses antiproliferative and antioxidant activities in vitro. Hence, this carotenoid or the whole microalgae P. tricornutum could be considered as a food or nutraceutical in human nutrition, showcasing beneficial health effects.
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Purified fucoxanthin from P. tricornutum has potent antioxidant and antiproliferative effects in vitro, lowering chemiluminescence in activated neutrophils and HeLa cells and increasing glutathione ratios.
“purified fucoxanthin from P. tricornutum demonstrated potent antioxidant and antiproliferative effects in vitro, lowering chemiluminescence in activated neutrophils and HeLa cells while significantly increasing glutathione ratios [66].”
From Microalgae Bioactives for Functional Food Innovation and Health Promotion (2025) · cites this paper as [66]
The Results (section 3.3; page unavailable) report reduced luminol chemiluminescence in stimulated blood cells and a significant increase in the GSH/GSSG ratio at the highest fucoxanthin concentration. The Methods (section 2.6; page unavailable) identify HeLa cells as the cells used for the glutathione assay, not the chemiluminescence assay. Thus the in vitro antioxidant and antiproliferative findings are supported, but the wording incorrectly places reduced chemiluminescence in HeLa cells. (LLM, conf=0.86)
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“Similarly, purified fucoxanthin from P. tricornutum demonstrated potent antioxidant and antiproliferative effects in vitro, lowering chemiluminescence in activated neutrophils and HeLa cells while significantly increasing glutathione ratios [66].”
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- Authors
- Neumann, U., Derwenskus, F., Flaiz Flister, V., Schmid-Staiger, U., Hirth, T., & Bischoff, S.
- Affiliations
- University of Hohenheim (DE)
- University of Stuttgart (DE)
- Institute of Clinical Nutrition, University of Hohenheim, Fruwirthstr. 12, 70593 Stuttgart, Germany
- Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB, Nobelstr. 12, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany
- Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (DE)
- Corresponding author
- Bischoff, Stephan
- Venue
- Antioxidants
- Publisher
- MDPI AG
- Published
- 2019-06-19
- Volume
- 8
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 183
- ISSN
- 2076-3921 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC6617271
- OpenAlex
- W2951928216
- Cited by
- 154
- References
- 57
- Citations by year
- 2026: 16 · 2025: 22 · 2024: 24 · 2023: 25 · 2022: 25 · 2021: 23 · 2020: 16 · 2019: 3
- FWCI
- 14.91
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- dx.doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Antioxidants (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Repository KITopen (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Publikationsdatenbank der Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft (Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Fraunhofer-Publica (Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft) (submittedVersion)
- Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- KITopen (cc-by)
- Funders
- Ministerium für Wissenschaft, Forschung und Kunst Baden-Württemberg (BÖBW-105B, 33-7533-10-5/91/1, 33-7533-10-5-93)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Aquatic Science › Seaweed-derived Bioactive Compounds
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Biochemistry › Antioxidant Activity and Oxidative Stress
- Physical Sciences › Energy › Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment › Algal biology and biofuel production
- Keywords
- fucoxanthin, Phaeodactylum tricornutum, carotenoids, antiproliferative activity, antioxidant activity, anti-inflammatory activity, caspase-3/7 activation, inflammatory cytokines, nitric oxide, neutrophils, glutathione, blood mononuclear cells, microalgae, nutraceuticals
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