The Journal of General and Applied Microbiology
Online ISSN : 1349-8037
Print ISSN : 0022-1260
ISSN-L : 0022-1260
Full Papers
The cyanobacterial UV-absorbing pigment scytonemin displays radical-scavenging activity
Kei MatsuiEhsan NazifiYosuke HiraiNaoki WadaSeiichi MatsugoToshio Sakamoto
Author information
JOURNAL OPEN ACCESS
Supplementary material

2012 Volume 58 Issue 2 Pages 137-144

Details
Abstract

Scytonemin is a 544-Da hydrophobic pigment that can absorb UV-A radiation. It is present in cyanobacterial sheaths and is thought to function as a UV protectant. In this study, scytonemin was purified from the terrestrial cyanobacterium Nostoc commune, and its radical-scavenging activity was characterized. The purified scytonemin quenched an organic radical in vitro and accounted for up to 10% of the total activity of an ethanol extract of N. commune. These results suggest that the extracellular UV-absorbing pigment scytonemin has multiple roles, functioning as a UV sunscreen and an antioxidant relevant to anhydrobiosis in N. commune.

Content from these authors
© 2012 by The Applied Microbiology, Molecular and Cellular Biosciences Research Foundation
Previous article Next article
feedback
Top