Bioactive properties of cuttlefish, Sepia pharaonis, ink extracted with different solvents
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Cuttlefish ink, a multifunctional marine byproduct, has attracted increasing interest due to its bioactive properties and potential applications in the food, pharmaceutical, and other industries. This study investigated the antimicrobial activity, physicochemical characteristics, and biochemical composition of Sepia pharaonis ink extracted using various solvents. The well diffusion method revealed that isopropanol-extracted (IPA) ink exhibited the highest antibacterial activity (27±0.41?mm), while distilled water showed the lowest activity. Biochemical groups in ink and ink extract were identified by FTIR spectroscopy. The ink powder showed strong absorbance peaks followed by IPA, ethanol, and methanol, respectively. Different peaks of absorbance of ink powder and ink extracted with different solvents, indicating the presence of varying absorbance value peaks of phenolic, alcohol, and amine groups. Among the solvents, IPA exhibited absorbance peaks close to those of the ink powder. The FTIR transmittance was found to be significantly lower in the ink powder (76.2±0.04%) and in the ink extracted with IPA (83.81±0.03%). Proximate analysis indicated that ink powder contained higher levels of lipid (0.21%), ash (16.27±0.05%), and crude protein (45.99±0.72%) compared to ink extracts. The DPPH radical scavenging activity assay showed significantly higher activity in ink extracted with distilled water (66.21±0.12% at the concentrate test at 12.5 mg/mL) than with IPA (52.82±0.97% at the tested concentration of 1000 mg/mL). IPA demonstrated superior extraction efficiency, achieving an average yield of 101.31±0.51%. Regarding functional properties, the water absorption index (WAI) remained stable, while the water solubility index (WSI) increased significantly with longer mixing times, reaching a maximum value of 22.09±0.40 after 24 hours. These results demonstrate the potential of S. pharaonis ink, depending on the solvent type, to have a significant impact on the effectiveness and functionality of extraction. IPA serves as an effective solvent for ink extraction, exhibiting high absorption characteristics and a significantly larger antimicrobial zone, which indicates potent bioactivity. These findings suggest that IPA-extracted ink possesses promising potential as a natural antioxidant. Ink powder and ink extract have the potential to be implemented, and their commercial viability and safety can be evaluated in the future for biomedicine applications.
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