Potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory bioactivities of fish roe-derived extracts

The regular consumption of fish and its products has been associated with decreased incidence of inflammatory conditions. Indeed, fish present several antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds (e.g., high levels of ω3 polyunsaturated fatty acids – PUFA). Therefore, this work explored fish roe derived from three different species, namely sardine, horse mackerel and sea bass, to produce new delivery devices. Aqueous and lipidic extracts were obtained using the Matyash method. Despite, the three aqueous extracts showed ability to scavenge peroxyl, hydroxyl and nitric oxide radicals, the ones derived from sardine roe were the most efficient. Thus, they were combined with sardine roe-derived lipidic extracts to prepare large unilamellar liposomes, designated as fishroesomes. The aqueous extracts, at non-cytotoxic concentrations, decreased the levels of pro-inflammatory mediators produced by stimulated macrophages, being these effects enhanced by its combination with liposomes. Consequently, the developed formulations could be promising natural options for the treatment of inflammatory diseases.Industrial relevanceFish roe has been increasingly included in the human diet due to its nutritional value (e.g., high levels of ω3 polyunsaturated fatty acids – PUFA) and health benefits. Therefore, this work used aqueous and lipidic extracts derived from roes of different fish, namely sardine, horse mackerel and sea bass, to produce novel, natural and safer formulations for the treatment of inflammatory conditions. The roes-derived aqueous extracts obtained using the Matyash method demonstrated significant antioxidant activity in comparison with the negative control (without compounds). Due to the overall higher antioxidant activity of sardine roe-derived aqueous extracts, they were used in combination with the lipidic extracts to produce large unilamellar liposomes. These sardine roe-derived formulations presented notable antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities, at non-cytotoxic levels. Moreover, a complementary action between the two extracts was observed. Thus, this study provides important insights about the value of roe-derived aqueous and lipidic extracts that can be used to prepare new pharmaceutical formulations with bioactivity levels compatible with their medical use for the treatment of inflammatory diseases.