Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of Milan, Via Celoria 2, 20133 Milan, Italy.
Department of Food, Environmental and Nutritional Sciences, University of Milan, Via Celoria 2, 20133 Milan, Italy.
Mar Drugs. 2024 Apr 3;22(4):163. doi: 10.3390/md22040163.
Approximately 75,000 tons of different sea urchin species are globally harvested for their edible gonads. Applying a circular economy approach, we have recently demonstrated that non-edible parts of the Mediterranean Sea urchin can be fully valorized into high-value products: antioxidant pigments (polyhydroxynaphthoquinones-PHNQs) and fibrillar collagen can be extracted to produce innovative biomaterials for biomedical applications. Can waste from other edible sea urchin species (e.g., ) be similarly valorised? A comparative study on PHNQs and collagen extraction was conducted. PHNQ extraction yields were compared, pigments were quantified and identified, and antioxidant activities were assessed (by ABTS assay) and correlated to specific PHNQ presence (i.e., spinochrome E). Similarly, collagen extraction yields were evaluated, and the resulting collagen-based biomaterials were compared in terms of their ultrastructure, degradation kinetics, and resistance to compression. Results showed a partially similar PHNQ profile in both species, with significantly higher yield in , while exhibited better antioxidant activity. samples showed higher collagen extraction yield, but scaffolds showed higher stability. In conclusion, waste from different species can be successfully valorised through PHNQ and collagen extraction, offering diverse applications in the biomedical field, according to specific technical requirements.
全球约有 7.5 万吨不同种类的海胆被收获其可食用的生殖腺。采用循环经济方法，我们最近证明，地中海海胆的不可食用部分可以被充分利用，转化为高价值产品：抗氧化色素（多羟基萘醌-PHNQs）和纤维状胶原蛋白，可用于生产用于生物医学应用的创新生物材料。其他可食用海胆（如 ）的废物是否也可以类似地利用？我们对 PHNQs 和胶原蛋白的提取进行了比较研究。比较了 PHNQ 提取产率，定量和鉴定了色素，并评估了抗氧化活性（通过 ABTS 测定），并与特定 PHNQ 的存在（即，棘皮素 E）相关联。同样，评估了胶原蛋白的提取产率，并比较了基于胶原蛋白的生物材料的超微结构、降解动力学和抗压能力。结果表明，两种物种的 PHNQ 图谱部分相似， 中的产率明显更高，而 的抗氧化活性更好。 样品的胶原蛋白提取产率较高，但 支架的稳定性较好。总之，根据特定的技术要求，通过 PHNQ 和胶原蛋白提取，可以成功地对来自不同物种的废物进行增值利用，为生物医学领域提供了多样化的应用。
