ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Mar. Sci.
Sec. Marine Biotechnology and Bioproducts
This article is part of the Research TopicBioactives of the Multicellular Marine FloraView all 6 articles
Biopolymer-Based Encapsulation of Adriatic Ulva Biomass Bioactives: Environmentally Friendly Technological Advance in Marine Functional Ingredients
Provisionally accepted
Nada Ćujić Nikolić1*
Zorana Mutavski1
Dragana Drakulović2,3
Smilja Marković4Jelena Vulić5Dubravka Bigović1Katarina Šavikin1- 1Institute for Medicinal Plants Reserach "Dr. Josif Pančić", Belgrade, Serbia
- 2Univerzitet Crne Gore, Podgorica, Montenegro
- 3Institute for Marine Biology, Kotor, Montenegro
- 4Srpska akademija nauka i umetnosti, Belgrade, Serbia
- 5Univerzitet u Novom Sadu, Novi Sad, Serbia
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The genus Ulva, abundant in the Adriatic Sea, serves as a sustainable source of bioactive compounds, including polyphenols and natural pigments such as chlorophylls and carotenoids, with potential applications in the food, nutraceutical, pharmaceutical, and environmental protection sectors. However, their low chemical stability, bioavailability, and undesirable sensory properties limit practical use. This study explored encapsulation methods for Ulva spp. extract using spray-drying and freeze-drying techniques, with biopolymer carriers such as maltodextrin as a conventional option and polydextrose as an innovative alternative, to enhance the stability and functionality of the bioactive compounds. Technological properties, including encapsulation yield, moisture content, bulk and tapped densities, rehydration time, and encapsulation efficiency, were evaluated, along with FTIR, DSC, and HPLC analyses. Comparative results showed that, while the spray-dried extract without a carrier achieved the highest polyphenolic encapsulation efficiency of 86.5%, polydextrose was more effective than maltodextrin in protecting total carotenoids and lutein. Spray-dried powders exhibited greater moisture reduction and improved powder properties than freeze-dried powders, which rehydrated faster and maintained good thermal stability up to 240 °C. Antioxidant assays (DPPH, ABTS, RP) showed similarly high activity across all formulations, indicating that the functional compounds were preserved regardless of the encapsulation method. These findings demonstrate that combining suitable encapsulation techniques with tailored biopolymer carriers enhances the stability, bioactivity, and handling of Ulva-derived bioactive compounds. This approach promotes the valorization of underutilized macroalgal biomass within blue biotechnology, aligns with green and circular bioeconomy principles, and offers promising pathways for developing innovative marine-derived functional ingredients.
Keywords: Green seaweed, macroalgae, Polyphenols, chlorophylls, Carotenoids, Lutein
Received: 08 Sep 2025; Accepted: 27 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Ćujić Nikolić, Mutavski, Drakulović, Marković, Vulić, Bigović and Šavikin. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Nada Ćujić Nikolić, ncujic@mocbilja.rs
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.