Hyaluronic acid from bluefin tuna by-product: Structural analysis and pharmacological activities

The fishing and aquaculture industries generate a huge amount of waste during processing and preservation operations, especially those of tuna. Recovering these by-products is a major economic and environmental challenge for manufacturers seeking to produce new active biomolecules of interest. A new hyaluronic acid was extracted from bluefin tuna's vitreous humour to assess its antioxidant and pharmacological activities. The characterization by infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), nuclear magnetic resonance ((1D1H) and 2D (1H COSY, 1H/13C HSQC)) and size exclusion chromatography (SEC/MALS/DRI/VD) revealed that the extracted polysaccharide was a hyaluronic acid with high uronic acid content (55.8 %) and a weight average molecular weight of 888 kDa. This polymer possesses significant anti-radical activity and ferrous chelating capacity. In addition, pharmacological evaluation of its anti-inflammatory and analgesic potential, using preclinical models, in comparison with reference drugs (Dexamethasone, diclofenac, and acetylsalicylate of lysine), revealed promising anti-inflammatory activity as well as interesting peripheral and central antinociceptive activity. Therefore, our new hyaluronic acid compound may therefore serve as a potential drug candidate for the treatment of pain sensation and inflammation of various pathological origins.