menu.header.image.unacom.logo
 

03. Science and Technology (Natural Sciences) Committee

Permanent URI for this communityhttps://repository.unesco.gov.ph/handle/123456789/3

In creating a culture of peace and addressing sustainable development challenges, UNESCO aims to cultivate the generation and application of scientific knowledge among its Member States. At UNACOM, we facilitate access to UNESCO’s international programmes in the sciences, such as the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme, and International Geoscience and Geoparks Programme (IGGP), among others.

Through this sector, the Commission aims to contribute to the following SDGs: 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities, 13 - Climate Action, 14 - Life Below Water, and 15 - Life On Land. With the overarching vision of the 2023-2028 Philippine Development Plan (PDP), UNACOM targets grassroots-inspired cultural heritage and biodiversity protection and conservation, as well as multi-stakeholder partnerships for SDGs promotion.

Browse

Filters

20232

Settings

SDG: search.filters.sdg.SDG 12 - Responsible consumption and productionUNESCO Keyword: search.filters.subject.Biochemistry

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Total polyphenol content of tropical marine and coastal flora: Potentials for food and nutraceutical applications
    Narvarte, Bienson Ceasar V.; Genovia, Tom Gerald T.; Hinaloc, Lourie Ann R.; Gonzaga, Shienna Mae C.; Tabonda-Nabor, April Mae; Palecpec, Flora Maye R.; Dayao, Helen M.; Roleda, Michael Y. (Springer, 2023-07-08)
    The marine environment is abundant in natural products that are beneficial to humans. Among these compounds are the polyphenols produced by marine flora as secondary metabolites and used as a defense against stressful environmental conditions. Accordingly, recent pharmacological and biomedical studies showed that polyphenols from marine and coastal floras have several important bioactivities including antioxidant property. In this study, we measured the total polyphenol content (TPC) of 75 species of marine-associated flora. The TPC of their methanolic extracts was measured spectrophotometrically using the Folin-Ciocalteu assay and was expressed both as mg phloroglucinol equivalent per g of dry weight (mg PGE g−1 DW) and as mg gallic acid equivalent per g dry weight (mg GAE g−1 DW). The TPC values are higher when expressed in terms of GAE compared to PGE. Also, the mean TPC of tracheopytes (229 ± 43.0 mg PGE g−1 DW) was higher compared to the mean TPC of macroalgae (69.4 ± 9.59 mg PGE g−1 DW). For macroalgae, ochrophytes (97.9 ± 22.7 mg PGE g−1 DW) had the highest mean TPC followed by chlorophytes (80.0 ± 20.5 mg PGE g−1 DW) and rhodophytes (49.5 ± 8.60 mg PGE g−1 DW). Moreover, our study also showed that TPC varied between young and mature tissues, among different color morphotypes and different parts of the plants. Although the concentrations of total polyphenols varied among species, ages, strains and parts of the plant, our study showed that marine and coastal floras are rich sources of polyphenols that could be further examined for their biological activities and other applications in food industry.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Physicochemical and biochemical characterization of collagen from Stichopus cf. horrens tissues for use as stimuli-responsive thin films
    Sisican, Kim Marie D.; Torreno, Vicenzo Paolo M.; Yu, Eizadora T.; Conato, Marlon T. (American Chemical Society, 2023-09-20)
    The mutable collagenous tissue (MCT) of sea cucumber, with its ability to rapidly change its stiffness and extensibility in response to different environmental stress conditions, serves as inspiration for the design of new smart functional biomaterials. Collagen, extracted from the body wall of Stichopus cf. horrens, a species commonly found in the Philippines, was characterized for its suitability as stimuli-responsive films. Protein BLAST search showed the presence of sequences commonly found in type VII and IX collagen, suggesting that Stichopus horrens collagen is heterotypic. The maximum transition temperature recorded was 56.0 ± 2 °C, which is higher than those of other known sources of marine collagen. This suggests that S. horrens collagen has better thermal stability and durability. Collagen-based thin films were then prepared, and atomic force microscopy (AFM) imaging showed the visible collagen network comprising the films. The thin films were subjected to thermomechanical analysis with degradation starting at >175 °C. At 100–150 °C, the collagen-based films apparently lose their translucency due to the removal of moisture. Upon exposure to ambient temperature, instead of degrading, the films were able to revert to the original state due to the readsorption of moisture. This study is a demonstration of a smart biomaterial developed from S. cf. horrens collagen with potential applications in food, pharmaceutical, biomedical, and other collagen-based research.