As claimed by the recent pandemic, the social
and economic harmonious development of the society requires human wellness,
both at individual and community levels. Immunity is a key function in human health
protection and defense, and one of the main actors of the immune system is
represented by the probiotic bacteria composing the microbiota of the gut.
Indeed, imbalances in the composition and function of gut microbiota
(dysbiosis) are associated with human diseases of various origins. Probiotics
grow using prebiotics resource i.e., compounds beneficial for gut bacteria
activity and growth. Nutraceuticals, thanks to their potential nutritional,
safety, and therapeutic effects, might be a valid and real alternative as
prebiotics boosting probiotic
activity and promoting human health benefits. This represents a
biotechnological challenge, for discovering and producing - in a sustainable
and eco-friendly way – low-cost and biomedically efficient prebiotics. As
nutraceuticals, microalgae are highly attractive thanks to their nutritional
status, fast growth rate, or high content in PUFAs, proteins or bioactive
compounds (polyphenols, carotenoids, or vitamins). The old (see historical use
of Spirulina), is coming back to the future. It is known that microalgal-based
nutraceuticals solutions to face the growing human health problems due to overpopulation,
malnutrition, modern lifestyle or pandemic. Diatom can be considered as a new
frontier in biotechnology e.g., for human health. Odontella aurita (Oa) is a lipid-rich
microalga and the unique diatom belonging to the European microalga list
accepted as food complements. GODdEsSEA aims to explore the potential of
the marine diatom Odontella aurita as prebiotic to be used in consortium
with probiotics (e.g., Lactobacillus) for human health benefits. The
research proposed in GODdEsSEA will address all the key steps of the
pipeline from Oa production to the in vitro and in vivo beneficial effects of
the fermented products from the interactions between Oa prebiotic and
probiotics. The project will investigate: (i) the biochemical, chemical, and in
vitro bioactivity characterization of the Oa biomass grown under two
different light climates, (ii) the role of enzymatic digestion – simulating oral-gastric-duodenal
bowl processing, on the biochemical, chemical, metabolomics and in vitro
bioactivity; (iii) the biochemical, chemical and metabolome of the fermentation
products (FPs) from the interactions between Oa (digested and not) and Lactobacillus
(the probiotic), (iv) the in vitro characterization of the functional
effects (immunomodulant, anti-inflammatory) of Oa biomass and of the FPs
on human cell lines, as well as on the gut microbiota-epithelial-immune
interactions 2-D in vitro model, and (v) the in vivo assessment of the
probiotic-prebiotic mixture in zebrafish for potential application also in aquaculture
aimed to improve health status in edible fish species.
