Chemical and Antioxidant Properties of Solvent and Enzyme-Assisted Extracts of Fucus vesiculosus and Porphyra dioica .

Extraction strategies impact the efficiency and nature of extracted compounds. This work assessed the chemical composition and antioxidant capacity of ethanolic, hydroethanolic, and aqueous versus enzyme-assisted extracts (isolated or with the sequential use of alcalase ® , cellulase ® , and viscozyme ® ) of the macroalgae Fucus vesiculosus (brown, Phaeophyceae ) and Porphyra dioica (red, Rhodophyta . For both macroalgae, enzyme-assisted extraction (EAE) was the most efficient process compared to solvent-assisted extraction (SAE), independent of solvent. Fucus vesiculosus extraction yields were higher for EAE than for SAE (27.4% to 32.2% and 8.2% to 30.0%, respectively). Total phenolics content (TPC) was at least 10-fold higher in EAE extracts (229.2 to 311.3 GAE/g extract ) than in SAE (4.34 to 19.6 GAE/g extract ) counterparts and correlated well with antioxidant capacity (ABTS and ORAC methods), with EAE achieving values up to 8- and 2.6-fold higher than those achieved by SAE, respectively. Porphyra dioica followed F. vesiculosus's trend for extraction yields (37.5% to 51.6% for EAE and 5.7% to 35.1% for SAE), TPC, although of a lower magnitude, (0.77 to 8.95 GAE/g extract for SE and 9.37 to 14.73 GAE/g extract for EAE), and antioxidant capacity. Aqueous extracts registered the highest DPPH values for both macroalgae, with 2.3 µmol TE/g extract and 13.3 µmol TE/g extract for F. vesiculosus and P. dioica , respectively. EAE was a more efficient process in the extraction of soluble protein and reducing sugars in comparison to SAE. Furthermore, an improved effect of enzyme-assisted combinations was observed for almost all analyzed parameters. This study shows the promising application of enzyme-assisted extraction for the extraction of valuable compounds from F. vesiculosus and P.dioica , making them excellent functional ingredients for a wide range of health and food industrial applications.