Metabolomic Profile and Biological Properties of Sea Lavender (Limonium algarvense Erben) Plants Cultivated with Aquaculture Wastewaters: Implications for Its Use in Herbal Formulations and Food Additives
Water extracts from sea lavender (Limonium algarvense Erben) plants cultivated in greenhouse
conditions and irrigated with freshwater and saline aquaculture effluents were evaluated for
metabolomics by liquid chromatography-tandem high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS/MS),
and functional properties by in vitro and ex vivo methods. In vitro antioxidant methods included radical
scavenging of 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,20-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-
sulfonic acid (ABTS), ferric-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), and copper and iron chelating assets.
Flowers’ extracts had the highest compounds’ diversity (flavonoids and its derivatives) and strongest
in vitro antioxidant activity. These extracts were further tested for ex vivo antioxidant properties
by oxidative haemolysis inhibition (OxHLIA), lipid peroxidation inhibition by thiobarbituric acid
reactive substances (TBARS) formation, and anti-melanogenic, anti-tyrosinase, anti-inflammation,
and cytotoxicity. Extract from plants irrigated with 300 mM NaCl was the most active towards
TBARS (IC50 = 81 g/mL) and tyrosinase (IC50 = 873 g/mL). In OxHLIA, the activity was similar
for fresh- and saltwater-irrigated plants (300 mM NaCl; IC50 = 136 and 140 g/mL, respectively).
Samples had no anti-inflammatory and anti-melanogenic abilities and were not toxic. Our results
suggest that sea lavender cultivated under saline conditions could provide a flavonoid-rich water
extract with antioxidant and anti-tyrosinase properties with potential use as a food preservative or as
a functional ingredient in herbal supplements.
Work supported by the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) and the Portuguese
National Budget through projects UIDB/04326/2020, UID/DTP/04138/2020 and PTDC/BAAAGR/1391/2020 (Greenvalue: Exploring salt tolerant plants as sources of innovative food additives).
It also received funding through Fundo Azul (XtremeAquaCrops project: FA-05-2017-028),
and by RNEM (Portuguese Mass Spectrometry Network) (LISBOA-01-0145-FEDER-022125-IST).
CIMO was financially supported by FCT through national funds FCT/MCTES (UIDB/00690/2020).
Viana Castañeda-Loaiza acknowledge FCT for the PhD grant 2020.04541.BD. Luísa Custódio and
José Pinela were supported by FCT Scientific Employment Stimulus (CEECIND/00425/2017 and
CEECIND/01011/2018, respectively) and Lillian Barros through the institutional scientific employment
program-contract.
