Novel exopolysaccharide produced by the marine dinoflagellate Heterocapsa AC210: Production, characterization, and biological properties

Marine microalgae are promising sources of novel valuable biomolecules such as polysaccharides. In this study, the dinoflagellate Heterocapsa sp. AC210 was described as a new exopolysaccharide (EPS) producer. The cultivation and EPS production in bioreactor was evaluated for the first time in detail. The EPS was composed of seven different sugar monomers, including fucose and glucosamine, which are quite rare and have never been reported in dinoflagellates' EPS. Moreover, the EPS had a high content of sulphate, which is often associated with biological properties. Cytotoxicity was accessed and the results showed that the EPS did not reduce cell viability for concentrations up to 1 g L−1. Additionally, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory assays demonstrated that the EPS reduced by 18 % the intracellular reactive oxygen species and decreased up to 79.3 % and 46.2 % of IL-8 and IL-6 secretion in keratinocytes, which supports its potential application in the cosmeceutical and biomedical fields.