Bifurcaria bifurcata: a key macro-alga as a source of bioactive compounds and functional ingredients

The aim of this work was to study the proximate composition and the bioactive profile of Bifurcaria bifurcata. It contains 73.31 +/- 0.69% of moisture, 8.57 +/- 0.11g per 100g dry weight (d.w.) of protein, 5.81 +/- 0.14g per 100g d.w. of lipid content and 30.15 +/- 0.00g per 100g d.w. of ash. The polyunsaturated fatty acids were the most abundant fatty acid (FA), accounting for 2426.56mg per 100g which represents 41.77% of the total FA. The methanolic fraction showed high quantity of polyphenols (220.01 +/- 0.010 phloroglucinol equivalentsg(-1) extract), DPPH radical reduction capacity (EC50:58.82gmL(-1)) and oxygen radical absorbent capacity (3151.35 +/- 119.33mol Trolox equivalentsg(-1) extract). The highest antimicrobial effect was observed against Pseudomonas aeruginosa (11.3 +/- 1.5mm) and Saccharomyces cerevisiae (IC50:17.07gmL(-1)) induced by methanolic and dichloromethane fractions, respectively. Dichloromethane fraction revealed the highest antitumor activity on Caco-2 and HepG-2 cells. Bifurcaria bifurcata can be a promising source of bioactive compounds and functional ingredients.