*Article* **A Comparative In Vitro Evaluation of the Anti-Inflammatory Effects of a** *Tisochrysis lutea* **Extract and Fucoxanthin**

**Elisabetta Bigagli 1, Mario D'Ambrosio 1, Lorenzo Cinci 1, Alberto Niccolai 2, Natascia Biondi 2, Liliana Rodolfi 2,3, Luana Beatriz Dos Santos Nascimiento 2, Mario R. Tredici 2,3 and Cristina Luceri 1,\***


**Abstract:** In this study, we compared the effects of a *Tisochrysis lutea (T. lutea)* F&M-M36 methanolic extract with those of fucoxanthin (FX) at equivalent concentration, on lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages. The *T. lutea* F&M-M36 methanolic extract contained 4.7 mg of FX and 6.22 mg of gallic acid equivalents of phenols per gram. HPLC analysis revealed the presence of simple phenolic acid derivatives. The *T. lutea* F&M-M36 extract exhibited a potent and concentrationdependent inhibitory activity against COX-2 dependent PGE2 production compared to FX alone. Compared to LPS, *T. lutea* F&M-M36 extract and FX reduced the expression of IL-6 and of Arg1 and enhanced that of IL-10 and of HO-1; *T. lutea* F&M-M36 extract also significantly abated the expression of NLRP3, enhanced mir-223 expression and reduced that of mir-146b, compared to LPS (*p* < 0.05). These findings indicate that *T. lutea* F&M-M36 methanolic extract has a peculiar anti-inflammatory activity against COX-2/PGE2 and NLRP3/mir-223 that might be attributable to the known antiinflammatory effects of simple phenolic compounds found in the extract that may synergize with FX. Our data suggest that *T. lutea* F&M-M36 may serve as a source of anti-inflammatory compounds to be further evaluated in in vivo models of inflammation.

**Keywords:** microalgae; *Tisochrysis lutea*; fucoxanthin; inflammation; RAW 264.7; microRNA
