Carotenoids from cyanobacteria modulate iNOS and inhibit the production of inflammatory mediators: Promising agents for the treatment of inflammatory conditions

Cyanobacteria are green multiproduct refineries of increasing interest for different industrial prospects. In this work, eleven cyanobacteria strains isolated from the Cape Verde archipelago were explored for their biotechnological applications in the field of inflammation. A biorefinery approach was employed to produce carotenoid-targeted extracts, further profiled by HPLC-PDA and explored for their ability to i) scavenge important physiological free radicals of oxygen (superoxide anion radical, O₂^•-) and nitrogen (nitric oxide, ^•NO) involved in the inflammatory process ii) slow-down post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation and iii) modulate the activity of inflammatory cytokine-producing enzymes, in enzymatic and cell systems comprising RAW 264.7 cells. The studied strains turned out to be important carotenoid producers (70.47–186.71 μg mg⁻¹dry extract), mainly represented by β-carotene and zeaxanthin. The targeted-extracts stood-out for their potential to slow-down the inflammatory process through a multitarget approach: scavenging ^•NO and O₂^•-, reducing inflammatory cytokines production through lipoxygenase inhibition, and modulating the inducible nitric oxide synthase in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells, with strains of the order Nodosilineales revealing to be worth of further biotechnological exploitation.