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Preserving and hydrogel-matrixing the bioactive properties of aromatic medicinal halophytic herbs from the coastline of the Iberian Peninsula
Publication . Parracho, Tiago; Cruz, Pedro F.; Peralta, Claúdia C.; Silva, Cândida G.; Campos, Maria Jorge; Neves, Marta; Cordeiro, Rachel; Trindade, Daniela; Moura, Carla; Almeida, Zaida L.; Pereira, Cidália D.; Guimarães, Carla; Brito, Rui M. M.; Guerra, Mauro; Reboredo, Fernando; Veríssimo, Paula; Ribeiro, Vânia; Vaz, Daniela C.; LIBPhys-UNL; DF – Departamento de Física; GeoBioTec - Geobiociências, Geoengenharias e Geotecnologias; Elsevier BV
Edible wild plants are part of the ethnobotanic heritage of a certain geographical area and are important sources of essential oils, antioxidants, minerals, and special flavours. Corema album (Portuguese crowberry), Crithmum maritimum (sea fennel), Eryngium maritimum (sea holly), Helichrysum italicum (curry plant) and Otanthus maritimus (cottonweed) wildly flourish along the sandy dunes of the coast of the Iberian Peninsula. These plants are locally known for their beneficial properties, with important value for food, cosmetics and/or medicinal applications. Hence, leaves of these endemic species were collected at four different locations and submitted to different preserving treatments (oven-drying, freezing, and freeze-drying). Acetonic extracts of the different plants submitted to the different post-harvesting treatments were analysed regarding their antioxidant capacities and phenolic contents. Plant extracts were also analysed by diffusion-ordered nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (DOSY-NMR). In general, freeze-drying was the best method of preserving plant minerals, antioxidants (∼4 mgVCEAC/g fw) and polyphenols (∼5 mgGAE/g fw). Minerals were quantified via energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry, and despite their location, all plants were rich in Ca, Cl, K, S and P. Hierarchical clustering and principal component analyses (PCA) pointed towards chemical/metabolic proximity between taxonomic families. Alginate hydrogels loaded with 0.1 % and 0.2 % (w/v) of extracts presented homogenous surface properties by scanning electron microscopy, good mechanical tensile strength (∼30 MPa) and antibacterial activity against S. aureus. Edible alginate hydrogels enriched with plant extracts hold great nutraceutical potential to be used as natural preservatives for food coating and packaging or as sources of bioactive compounds for biomedical applications.
Integrated Multi-Biomarker Responses of Juvenile Zebra Seabream (Diplodus cervinus) to Warming and Acidification Conditions
Publication . Dias, Marta; Pousão-Ferreira, Pedro; Diniz, Mário S.; Marques, António; Rosa, Rui; Anacleto, Patrícia; Maulvault, Ana L.; UCIBIO - Applied Molecular Biosciences Unit; MARE - Centro de Ciências do Mar e do Ambiente; Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia (FCT); MDPI - Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute
The impacts of climate change-related stressors are becoming more noticeable in the ocean, particularly in coastal marine ecosystems. Yet limited information still exists on the physiological state and ecological resilience of marine fish species, especially during their early life stages (i.e., larvae and juveniles). The present study investigated the effects of chronic exposure to seawater warming (OW; ΔT = +4 °C) and acidification (OA; ΔpH = −0.3 pH units, equivalent to pCO2~1000 µatm), acting alone or combined (OWA), on juvenile zebra seabream (Diplodus cervinus) physiological resilience, considering distinct levels of biological organization (i.e., biochemical, cell, organ and individual levels). After 60 days of exposure, both stressors, in isolation or combination, significantly decreased specific growth rate (−11% in OW, −42% in OA and −49% in OWA) and leukocyte counts (from −29% in OA and OWA up to −37% in OW) in relation to the control treatment. In addition, a decreased Fulton’s condition index (K) was observed under warming and acidification in combination (−35% in OWA). At the cell level, OW, OA and OWA triggered different biomarker responses in D. cervinus (i.e., up-regulation, down-regulation, or absence of significant effect). In general, the results are suggestive of an antagonistic effect when warming and acidification are combined. OWA yielded the highest integrated biomarker response (IBR) index value in the whole organism, muscle, brain and gills of D. cervinus juveniles, therefore suggesting that the effects of these stressors are more severe when they act together. The distinct patterns observed in each stress scenario highlight the importance of carrying out further studies adjusted to the specificities of different regions, i.e., accounting not only for the type and degree of severity of environmental stressors already felt and/or projected for that specific area, but also the physiological plasticity of species that inhabit a particular ecosystem. The gathered knowledge will allow one to determine the vulnerability of particular marine species and geographic areas and, most importantly, to draw up effective and tailor-made conservation strategies to overcome climate change impacts.
The Advantages of Combining Morphological and Molecular Methods to Characterise Zooplankton Communities
Publication . Simões, Marco; Cotrim Marques, Sónia; Costa, Cátia; da Luz Calado, Maria; Lobo-Arteaga, Jorge; Bartilotti, Cátia; Jorge Campos, Maria; Leandro, Sérgio Miguel; Antunes, Agostinho; MARE - Centro de Ciências do Mar e do Ambiente; Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia (FCT); MDPI - Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute
Understanding the ecological dynamics of zooplankton communities is crucial to precisely assessing the health of marine ecosystems and their management. Metabarcoding has contributed to a better understanding of biodiversity in marine environments. However, this methodology still requires protocol optimisation. Here, we used a complementary approach combining molecular and morphological identification methods to identify the zooplankton community inhabiting the Berlengas Archipelago, Portugal. The presence of non-indigenous species was also assessed. The results showed that the metabarcoding approach outperformed the classical morphological identification method, detecting more species with higher resolution. Nevertheless, the classical method was able to identify species that were not detected by the molecular approaches, probably due to a lack of reference data in the databases. The comparison between different molecular approaches showed that COI and bulk DNA gave better results than 18S rRNA and eDNA by detecting higher species diversity. However, complementarities were observed between them. Molecular tools also proved effective in identifying several potential non-indigenous species, identifying, for the first time, several potentially unreported NIS inhabiting the Portuguese marine ecosystems. Overall, our results confirmed the importance of combining both classical and molecular methods to obtain a more refined assessment of the zooplanktonic communities in marine environments.
Seeing together the ocean
Publication . Jankowsky, Mayra; Mesquita, Mônica; MARE - Centro de Ciências do Mar e do Ambiente; Universidade Nove de Julho - UNINOVE
Context: The Decade of the Ocean to 2030 was declared by the United Nations through the 2030 Agenda for the Ocean and the Blue Economy. However, the growing economic exploitation of the ocean is negatively impacting coastal populations, recontextualizing the continuity of ancestral ways of life and practices. Objective: Therefore, it is necessary to understand and analyze the contradictions present in this global agenda. To do so, it is essential to adopt a theoretical-methodological framework of plural investigation that encourages the effective and critical participation of all, i.e., an emancipatory and transdisciplinary framework rooted in other cultures, values, and knowledge. Methodology: Through diverse praxes, a dialogical space was constructed in Costa da Caparica in Portugal to advance the perspective of the desired ocean. Thus, a bottom-up and participatory tool focused on the theme "The ocean that the Ocean desires", which involved participants from different fields who deliberated on the current situation and problematized the scenario at hand. Originality: In this way, it was possible to analyze the alignment of global agendas with local demands. Results: The debates revealed different meanings between the desired future for the ocean and the current trajectory, including discussions around the concept of Blue Growth. Furthermore, there was an identification of the need to reimagine society's relationship with the ocean, incorporating fundamental rights, such as the right to time. Social contributions: It is suggested that constructing an oceanic societal trajectory requires new directions aligned with the pursuit of a more just and ecologically wise society.
Mapping Ca, Fe, K, and Zn in Biofortified Gilthead Seabream and Common Carp Fish Through X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometry
Publication . Barbosa, Vera; Martins, Marta; Marques, António; Carvalho, Maria Luisa; Pessanha, Sofia; MARE - Centro de Ciências do Mar e do Ambiente; DCEA - Departamento de Ciências e Engenharia do Ambiente; LIBPhys-UNL; DF – Departamento de Física; John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Globally, there is a growing demand for healthy and sustainable food products, where seafood can play a relevant role, because it is widely recognized as a healthy food item and is an important source of essential nutrients. Still, one third of the world population suffers from food insecurity and different forms of malnutrition. Hence, developing tailor-made fortified farmed fish is a promising solution to overcome nutritional deficiencies and increase consumer confidence in these products. The aim of this study is to evaluate differences in nutritional elements distribution in biofortified and non-biofortified fillets from gilthead seabream and common carp, using micro-X-ray fluorescence (μ-XRF). This technique is a fast and nondestructive multielement mapping method with simple operation and sample preparation procedures. Results showed that calcium was mainly accumulated in the skin layer, which includes the scales and spines (skeleton), whereas iron, potassium, and zinc were uniformly distributed in the fish muscle. Compared with the control, biofortified gilthead seabream fillets showed a higher concentration of iron in the inner area of the skin layer (dermis) and muscle tissue, whereas biofortified common carp fillets showed a higher concentration of iron in muscle tissue and zinc in the abdominal cavity tissue of the sample. This study demonstrates that micro-X-ray is a suitable technique to assess the elemental distribution with micrometer resolution in fish fillets.
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Entidade financiadora
Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
Programa de financiamento
Concurso de avaliação no âmbito do Programa Plurianual de Financiamento de Unidades de I&D (2017/2018) - Financiamento Base
Número da atribuição
UIDB/04292/2020