Table 5.
Review of Archaea carotenoids biological and pharmacological activities according to the literature.
| Common Name | Biological Activities and Properties |
|---|---|
| C40 Hydrocarbons | |
| β-Carotene | Photosynthetic pigment present in all organisms making oxygenic photosynthesis from cyanobacteria to higher plants [108,109] Photoprotective agent [110] Present in the reaction-center complexes (RC) and the light-harvesting complexes (LHC) of photosystem I (PSI) as well as the RC and the core LHC of photosystem II (PSII) [111,112,113] Provitamin A [114,115] Antioxidant—free radical scavenger/singlet oxygen quencher, 101 times stronger than that of α-tocopherol (SOAC value: 101) [110,111,116,117,118,119] Anti-apoptotic agent (mouse model of traumatic brain injury) preventing loss of Bcl2, preventing accumulation of Bax, and preventing accumulation or activation of Caspase 3 [120] β-carotene-derived retinoid acids bind with retinoid acid receptor (PAR) and retinoid X receptor. Receptors dimerization leads to a functional transcription factor regulating gene expression during neurogenesis. Neuroprotective activity against apoptosis [120] Anticarcinogenic activity [121,122] Cell differentiation and proliferation promoter by upregulating Connexin 43 gene [123] Immune response enhancement in animals and humans [124] Found in human skin throughout the epidermis, dermis and also the subcutaneous [125] |
| (13Z)-β-Carotene | Provitamin A activity (10% of that of all-trans-β-carotene) [126,127] |
| Lycopene or (all-E)-Lycopene | Photoprotection [114] Radioprotection against gamma-radiation-induced cellular damages [128] Strong antioxidant —strong singlet-quenching ability—141 times stronger than that of α-tocopherol (SOAC value: 141) [111,114,116,117,118,119] Protecting mitochondria and mitochondrial DNA by antioxidant properties and treatment with lycopene prevents loss of mitochondrial inner membrane potential during ROS challenge [120] Antiradical activity [129] Found in human skin throughout the epidermis, dermis and also the subcutaneous [125] Anticarcinogenic activity by reducing insulin growth factor 1 (IGF-1) stimulation with an increase in membrane-associated IGF-binding proteins; also slows down IGF-1-stimulated cell cycle progression [114,116,121,122,130] Inhibits the proliferation of androgen-dependent human prostate tumor cells through activation of PPARγ-LXRα-ABCA1 [131] Anti-apoptotic agent—preventing loss of Bcl2 and Bcl-xL, preventing accumulation of Bax, preventing accumulation or release of Cytochrome C, and preventing accumulation or activation of Caspase 3 [120] Anti-inflammation [114] Anti-inflammatory effects of lycopene may help alleviate neuropsychiatric diseases such as post-traumatic stress disorder and depression [120] Antimicrobial activity against S. aureus, and E. coli O-157 [132] Antifungal activity against C. albicans by arresting their cell cycle [132] Cell differentiation and proliferation promoter by upregulating Connexin 43 gene [123] Non-Provitamin A [114] |
| Phytoene | Anticarcinogenic activity [121] |
| Phytofluene | Anticarcinogenic activity—more active than β-carotene [122] |
| (all-E)-Phytofluene | No biological activity reported |
| Zeaxanthin diglucoside | No biological activity reported |
| (9Z)-Zeaxanthin-3′-rhamnoside | No biological activity reported |
| (13Z)-Zeaxanthin-3′-rhamnoside | No biological activity reported |
| (15Z)-Zeaxanthin-3′-rhamnoside | No biological activity reported |
| Zeaxanthin dirhamnoside | No biological activity reported |
| (9Z)-Zeaxanthin dirhamnoside | No biological activity reported |
| Zeaxanthin monorhamnoside | No biological activity reported |
| C45 Hydroxycarotenoids | |
| Dihydroisopentenyldehydrorhodopin (DH-IDR) | No biological activity reported |
| 2-Isopentenyl-3,4-dehydrorhodopin (IPR) |
No biological activity reported |
| C50 Hydroxycarotenoids | |
| Bacterioruberin (BR) | Antioxidant activity—much better radical scavenger than that of β-carotene as it contains 13 pairs of conjugated double bonds [45,133] limits oxidation due to H2O2 exposure [80,134] Photoprotective activity—limits oxidative DNA damage from UV irradiation [80,134] Radio protective activity—limits oxidative DNA damage from gamma irradiation [80,134] |
| Bisanhydrobacterioruberin (BABR) |
No biological activity reported |
| Dihydrobisanhydrobacterioruberin (DH-BABR) | No biological activity reported |
| 3′,4′-dihydromonoanhydrobacterioruberin | No biological activity reported |
| 1′,2′-epoxy-2′-(2,3-epoxy-3-methylbutyl)-2-(3-hydroxy-3-methylbutyl)-3′,4′-didehydro-1,2,1′,2′-tetrahydro-ψ,ψ-caroten-1-ol | No biological activity reported |
| Monoanhydrobacterioruberin (MABR) |
No biological activity reported |
| 3,4,3′,4′-tetrahydrobisanhydrobacterioruberin | No biological activity reported |
| Trisanhydrobacterioruberin | No biological activity reported |
| Apocarotenoids | |
| Retinal or Vitamin A aldehyde |
Photoreception in human retina Abolishes the function of the toxin suberitine at a stoichiometric ratio of 1:1 [135] Isomerized to 13Z-retinal under light, and isomerized back to all-trans retinal in the dark |