With the increase in life expectancy, reducing the visible signs of skin aging has become a major issue. A reduction in collagen and hyaluronic acid synthesis by fibroblasts is a feature of skin aging. The green seaweed, Ulva intestinalis, is an abundant and rich source of nutrients, especially proteins and peptides. The aim of this study was to assess the potential cosmetic properties of a protein fraction from Ulva intestinalis (PROT-1) containing 51% of proteins and 22% of polysaccharides, and its enzymatic peptide hydrolysates on human dermal fibroblasts. PROT-1 was extracted using a patented acid- and solvent-free process (FR2998894 (B1)). The biochemical characterization and chromatographic analysis showed a main set of proteins (25 kDa). To demonstrate the anti-aging potential of PROT-1, fibroblast proliferation and collagen and hyaluronic acid production were assessed on fibroblast cell lines from donors aged 20 years (CCD-1059Sk) and 46 years (CCD-1090Sk). PROT-1 induced a significant increase in collagen and hyaluronic acid production per cell, and a reduction in cell proliferation without increasing cell mortality. These effects were reversed after protein hydrolysis of PROT-1, showing the central role of proteins in this promising anti-aging property.

Ports are a good example of how coastal environments, gathering a set of diverse ecosystems, are subjected to pollution factors coming from human activities both on land and at sea. Among them, trace element as copper represents a major factor. Abundant in port ecosystem, copper is transported by runoff water and results from diverse port features (corrosion of structures, fuel, anti-fouling products, etc.). The variegated scallop Mimachlamys varia is common in the Atlantic port areas and is likely to be directly influenced by copper pollution, due to its sessile and filtering lifestyle. Thus, the aim of the present study is to investigate the disruption of the variegated scallop metabolism, under a short exposure (48 h) to a copper concentration frequently encountered in the waters of the largest marina in Europe (82 μg/L). For this, we chose a non-targeted metabolomic approach using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled to high resolution mass spectrometry (UHPLC-HRMS), offering a high level of sensitivity and allowing the study without a priori of the entire metabolome. We described 28 metabolites clearly modulated by copper. They reflected the action of copper on several biological functions such as osmoregulation, oxidative stress, reproduction and energy metabolism.

Oligosaccharides derived from λ-carrageenan (λ-COs) are gaining interest in the cancer field. They have been recently reported to regulate heparanase (HPSE) activity, a protumor enzyme involved in cancer cell migration and invasion, making them very promising molecules for new therapeutic applications. However, one of the specific features of commercial λ-carrageenan (λ-CAR) is that they are heterogeneous mixtures of different CAR families, and are named according to the thickening-purpose final-product viscosity which does not reflect the real composition. Consequently, this can limit their use in a clinical applications. To address this issue, six commercial λ-CARs were compared and differences in their physiochemical properties were analyzed and shown. Then, a H₂O₂-assisted depolymerization was applied to each commercial source, and number- and weight-averaged molar masses (M_n and M_w) and sulfation degree (DS) of the λ-COs produced over time were determined. By adjusting the depolymerization time for each product, almost comparable λ-CO formulations could be obtained in terms of molar masses and DS, which ranged within previously reported values suitable for antitumor properties. However, when the anti-HPSE activity of these new λ-COs was screened, small changes that could not be attributed only to their small length or DS changes between them were found, suggesting a role of other features, such as differences in the initial mixture composition. Further structural MS and NMR analysis revealed qualitative and semi-quantitative differences between the molecular species, especially in the proportion of the anti-HPSE λ-type, other CARs types and adjuvants, and it also showed that H₂O₂-based hydrolysis induced sugar degradation. Finally, when the effects of λ-COs were assessed in an in vitro migration cell-based model, they seemed more related to the proportion of other CAR types in the formulation than to their λ-type-dependent anti-HPSE activity.