No full-text available
To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the authors.
Biological activities and potential industrial applications of fucose rich sulfated polysaccharides and fucoidans isolated from brown seaweeds: A review
Abstract
Brown seaweeds are rich in sulfated polysaccharides that could potentially be exploited as functional ingredients for human health. Over the years, sulfated polysaccharides with potential pharmacological, nutraceutical, functional food and cosmeceutical properties have been isolated from brown seaweeds. In the present review, attempts have been made to discuss the functional properties of brown algal fucoidans and fucose rich sulfated polysaccharides. Anticoagulant, antithrombotic, immunomodulation, anticancer and anti-proliferative activities are the most extensively studied biological activities of fucoidans. The profound functional properties of fucoidans have proven to be invaluable and could be employed in the potential industrial applications as natural functional ingredients to obtain possible health benefits. For such applications, the reviewed literature in this communication may provide valuable basic information.
... As a traditional part of Oriental diets and herbal medicine, brown seaweed has a long history in Asian countries and is more easily accepted by the local people [9]. In recent years, there has been increasing attention paid to the structures and potential biological activities of brown seaweed polysaccharides [10,11]. Studies have shown that polysaccharides extracted from brown seaweed contain high levels of sulfates and polyphenols, and they exhibit higher antioxidant activity compared to green and red seaweed [12]. ...
... Research has shown that seaweed polysaccharides exhibit unique properties in terms of structure, composition, and biological activity, which depend on factors such as the source of seaweed and extraction methods [8,11,16]. Similarly, the biological activity of seaweed polysaccharides against cancer cells varies, and they exhibit specificity in their anti-tumor activity against different tumor cells [6,[17][18][19]. For example, when extracting and purifying polysaccharides from Sargassum pallidum to study their anti-tumor activity, Ye et al. (2008) identified seven different polysaccharide fractions. ...
Searching for natural products with anti-tumor activity is an important aspect of cancer research. Seaweed polysaccharides from brown seaweed have shown promising anti-tumor activity; however, their structure, composition, and biological activity vary considerably, depending on many factors. In this study, 16 polysaccharide fractions were extracted and purified from three large brown seaweed species (Sargassum horneri, Scytosiphon lomentaria, and Undaria pinnatifida). The chemical composition analysis revealed that the polysaccharide fractions have varying molecular weights ranging from 8.889 to 729.67 kDa, and sulfate contents ranging from 0.50% to 10.77%. Additionally, they exhibit different monosaccharide compositions and secondary structures. Subsequently, their anti-tumor activity was compared against five tumor cell lines (A549, B16, HeLa, HepG2, and SH-SY5Y). The results showed that different fractions exhibited distinct anti-tumor properties against tumor cells. Flow cytometry and cytoplasmic fluorescence staining (Hoechst/AO staining) further confirmed that these effective fractions significantly induce tumor cell apoptosis without cytotoxicity. qRT-RCR results demonstrated that the polysaccharide fractions up-regulated the expression of Caspase-3, Caspase-8, Caspase-9, and Bax while down-regulating the expression of Bcl-2 and CDK-2. This study comprehensively compared the anti-tumor activity of polysaccharide fractions from large brown seaweed, providing valuable insights into the potent combinations of brown seaweed polysaccharides as anti-tumor agents.
... Macroalgae are especially known for their high abundance of MSPs, which provide support to the cell wall structure (Kraan, 2012;Vavilala and D'Souza, 2015;Helbert, 2017). Macroalgae can be subdivided into three families: brown (Phaeophyta), green (Chlorophyta), and red (Rhodophyta) (Wijesinghe and Jeon, 2012;Imjongjairak et al., 2016;Wang et al., 2018). Each family has their own unique sulphated polysaccharide profile with brown macroalgae being high in fucoidan, green macroalgae being high in ulvan, and red macroalgae being high in both carrageenan and agarans (Mohan et al., 2019). ...
... In aquatic species, MSPs can be administered via the feed, injection, or by adding them to the water column (Mohan et al., 2019). After administration, MSPs can have several biological functions, such as free-radical scavenging, anticoagulation, tumour progression inhibition, and immunomodulation (Wijesinghe and Jeon, 2012;Wang et al., 2018). The immunomodulatory properties of MSPs, in particular, are a target for the improvement of fish health, and are therefore the main topic of investigation of this study. ...
Targeting the fish immune response can be a method to enhance resilience towards disease and stress, and to reduce the reliance of the industry on antibiotics and vaccination. A way to modulate the immune response in mammals is the use of marine sulphated polysaccharides (MSPs). However, research investigating the potential of MSPs in fish species has been lacking. Therefore, this study aimed to identify whether MSPs can modulate the immune activity of two leukocyte cultures (head kidney leukocytes and peripheral blood leukocytes) in vitro in common carp (Cyprinus carpio) and Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus). Furthermore, the effect of
preparation method and concentration of the MSP extracts on immune activity were determined in both fish species. To investigate this, first the cell populations of the two cultures were identified in both fish species using flow cytometry. Afterwards, immune activity was measured by reactive oxygen species (ROS) and nitric oxide (NO) production, and gene expression analysis after stimulation of leukocytes with one of the nine MSP extracts. This study showed that the preparation method did not affect ROS production nor NO production. Furthermore, it was demonstrated that extracts 1, 7, 8 were able to induce ROS production at the highest investigated concentration of 1000 μg/mL, whereas extract 9 showed induced ROS production
at 100 μg/mL. Furthermore, all extracts significantly induced NO production. Lastly, the stimulation of HKL with 500 μg/mL MSP extract induced the expression of several pro-inflammatory genes (IL1β, TNFα, IL6, CXCL8) as well as the induction of anti-inflammatory IL10, except for extract 9. Additionally, the gene expression of TLR2 and MyD88, an adaptor protein downstream of toll-like receptors, was not affected by exposure of HKL to MSPs. Whilst gene expression of CARD9, an adaptor protein downstream of C-type lectin receptors (CLRs), was upregulated after stimulation with MSPs. In conclusion, this study was able to show the activation of the immune system by nine MSP extracts in common carp and Nile tilapia, which
might be initiated by the recognition of MSPs by a receptor from the CLR superfamily. The outcomes of this study are a first step towards the use of MSPs as immunomodulatory agents in the aquaculture industry
... Therefore, cancer drugs derived from natural resources, such as algae, are highly promising sources. Several studies have reported that subcritical extract from algae can inhibit tumor structures, thereby showing significant anticancer properties (Xie et al., 2024;Wijesinghe and Jeon, 2012). Polysaccharides and bioactive extracts from seaweed showed in vitro anticancer activities (Al-Mur, 2024;Sanniyasi et al., 2023). ...
Algae, widely as a valuable marine biomass, are appreciated globally for their unique chemical compositions and exceptional nutritional benefits. Scientists are increasingly focusing on valorizing algae biomass to recover polysaccharides and bioactive extracts. Conventional methods commonly used to extract bioactive compounds have several limitations. Subcritical water extraction (SWE) is a green extraction technology for extracting bioactive compounds from natural products. SWE has garnered significant attention attributed to its use of safe solvent (water), high extraction efficiency, economical, promising application potential and environmental friendliness. The factors influencing the extraction of bioactive compounds using SWE, including temperature, pressure, extraction time, particle size, and solid-to-solvent ratio, were thoroughly discussed. Furthermore, these bioactive compounds exhibit antioxidant, antimicrobial, antihypertensive, anticancer, and antidiabetic properties. The bioactive compounds from the hydrolysates were not purified, but future research could address this for potential applications. This study provides valuable reference points for both academia and industrial-scale commercialization.
... By comparison to the other polysaccharides, we observed that fucoidan was not degraded in any condition and appears highly recalcitrant to degradation during successful ensilage. As fucoidan is of interest to the pharmaceutical industry for its functional properties, including anticoagulant, antithrombotic, immunomodulation, anticancer and anti-proliferative activities [64][65][66], this compound could be a target for biorefinery extraction from ensiled kelp before anaerobic digestion of the bulk biomass, without being detrimental to biogas production. ...
Ensiling is a promising low-cost preservation approach that allows for a year-round supply of kelp feedstock for biofuel production via anaerobic digestion. In this study, farm-grown kelps of known age were ensiled with and without the addition of lactic acid bacterial (LAB) inoculant for a duration of up to one year in order to test long-term storage suitability. The study looked at the impacts of different bacterial inoculums on the chemical and microbial composition over the duration of storage. Significant fluctuations in the pH were observed during ensiling, leading to some cases of secondary fermentation and a loss of volatile components; however, over 12 months, the total mass loss was <2% on average. Biochemical compositional changes occurred in the silage over a period of 12 months, but protein, lipid and carbohydrate content remained suitable for biogas production. Microbial analysis showed variability in the bacterial distribution between the ensiled samples that was coincident with pH variability. Despite this variability, the bacterial communities underwent a succession with a selection for ensilage bacteria and drop in spoilage organisms. This shift supports the viability of this ensiled material for future usage. The impact of ensiling on bioenergy production through anaerobic digestion is explored in the second part of this two-part paper.
... The European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) qualified algae biomass as a novel food to incorporate into dietary supplements [2]. One of the potentially interesting organisms in this context is the brown algae Fucus vesiculosus (which belongs to Fucaceae, and is common in the Irminger Sea, Norwegian Sea, Barents Sea, and White Sea zones), which was found to have several medical benefits, including antioxidant, anti-obesity, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial (antiviral), anticancer, anti-aging [3][4][5][6][7], and antitumor properties [8][9][10], as well as antihyperglycemic and anti-hypercholesterolemic properties of alginic acid [11][12][13][14][15]. ...
The exploration of natural antifungal substances from algal origins is significant due to the increasing resistance of pathogens to conventional antifungal agents and the growing consumer demand for natural products. This manuscript represents the inaugural investigation into the antifungal attributes of bioactive compounds extracted from Fucus vesiculosus via supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) extraction utilizing contemporary countercurrent chromatography (CCC). In aligning with the prospective utilization of this extract within the agricultural sector, this study also serves as the preliminary report demonstrating the capability of Fucus vesiculosus scCO2 extract to enhance the activity of plant resistance enzymes. The fractions obtained through CCC were subjected to evaluation for their efficacy in inhibiting the macrospores of Fusarium culmorum. The CCC methodology facilitated the successful separation of fatty acids (reaching up to 82.0 wt.% in a given fraction) and fucosterol (attaining up to 79.4 wt.% in another fraction). All CCC fractions at the concentration of 1.0% were found to inhibit 100% of Fusarium culmorum growth. Moreover, Fucus vesiculosus scCO2 extract was able to activate plant resistance enzymes (Catalase, Ascorbic Peroxidase, Guaiacol Peroxidase, Phenylalanine Ammonia-Lyase, and Phenylalanine Ammonia-Lyase Activity).
... Therefore, the key strategy to address this problem is to reduce MMP levels and control collagen secretion. Fucoidan, a major sulfated polysaccharide found in the cell walls of brown algae [72], has been observed to suppress UVB-stimulated mRNA and protein expression related to MMP-1 regulation and type 1 pro-collagen downregulation by inactivating extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and c-Jun N-terminal kinase in HaCaT immortalized human keratinocyte cells [73]. Moreover, fucoidan from Mekabu inhibited the interleukin-1β (IL-1β)-induced secretion of MMP-9 and MMP-3 and the degradation of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases 1 in HDFs [74]. ...
Aging is closely linked to various health challenges, including cardiovascular disease, metabolic disorders, and neurodegenerative conditions. This study emphasizes the critical role of bioactive compounds derived from marine sources, such as antioxidants, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins, minerals, and polysaccharides, in addressing oxidative stress, inflammation, and metabolic disorders closely related to aging. Incorporating these materials into functional foods not only provides essential nutrients but also delivers therapeutic effects, thereby promoting healthy aging and mitigating age-related diseases. The growth of the global anti-aging market, particularly in North America, Europe, and Asia, underscores the significance of this study. This review systematically analyzes the current research, identifying key bioactive compounds, their mechanisms of action, and their potential health benefits, thus highlighting the broad applicability of marine-derived bioactive compounds to enhancing healthy aging and improving the quality of life of aging populations.
... Research indicates that fucoidan with a higher fucose content often exhibits enhanced biological efficacy [22,27]. For instance, fucoidans with elevated fucose concentrations tend to exhibit stronger anticoagulant and anti-inflammatory properties, likely due to the unique sulfation patterns associated with fucose residues [28][29][30]. However, while fucose is a key component, its content alone does not solely determine the bioactivity of the polysaccharide. ...
Fucoidan, a sulfated polysaccharide found primarily in brown algae, is known for exhibiting various biological activities, many of which have been attributed to its sulfate content. However, recent advancements in techniques for analyzing polysaccharide structures have highlighted that not only the sulfate groups but also the composition, molecular weight, and structures of the polysaccharides and their monomers play a crucial role in modulating biological effects. This review comprehensively provides the monosaccharide composition, degree of sulfation, molecular weight distribution, and linkage of glycosidic bonds of fucoidan, focusing on the diversity of its biological activities based on various characteristics. The implications of these findings for future applications and potential therapeutic uses of fucoidan are also discussed.
... It seems that seaweed and its extracts and bioactive compounds are considered a vital source of several immunostimulant compounds, presenting possible advantages to the immune system of fish and their resistance against challenging pathogens (Thanigaivel et al., 2016), suggesting an alternative therapeutic strategy for controlling and managing fish diseases. In addition, sulfated carbohydrates from seaweed seem to have potential immunomodulatory effects (Wijesinghe and Jeon, 2012). The micro-alga Spirulina platensis (2.5% powder) significantly enhanced the mucosal immunity and increased the mRNA expression levels of some immune-associated genes such as lysozyme and IgM genes in rainbow trout after a 7-week feeding trial (Sheikhzadeh et al., 2019). ...
Yersiniosis or enteric redmouth (ERM) is responsible for significant mortalities among rainbow trout and other salmonids. Hence, its prevention and/or control has become a research hotspot. Antibiotics are effective for control; however, accumulating evidence indicates that unrestricted use of antibiotics harms fish, human beings, and the environment. Thus, finding safe, efficacious, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly substitutes is of great interest. Reports showed that dietary supplementation with functional additives with health-promoting and immunostimulatory functions could be a promising strategy. Herein, we provide an overview of the non-antibiotic feed-based strategies for combating EMR in rainbow trout without resorting to antibiotic usage. For this issue, the uses and application of some vitamins, probiotics, prebiotics, synbiotics, quorum quenching probiotic strains, algae, or organic acids, are included in the article. The roles of phytobiotics (herbal supplements), their phytochemicals, and the essential oils extracted from them will also be elucidated. Some emerging nano-based feed supplements are also discussed. Considering their advantages, literature declared that the dietary supplementation of these supplements could enhance the overall health condition, haemato-immunity, and disease resistance and conferred high protection of trout experimentally infected with yersiniosis. Given this perspective, this article presents the current situation and the latest knowledge on these supplements, emphasizing not only their roles to support immunity and decrease the effects of EMR but also to minimize antibiotic usage in aquaculture. Limitations and future perspectives on their effectiveness and efficacy are also discussed. This review will help enhance aquaculture sustainability and improve the health and welfare of rainbow trout.
... Fucoidans, heteropolysaccharides containing fucose and other monosaccharides like xylose, galactose, mannose, and glucuronic acid, along with sulfate, uronic acids, and acetyl groups, offer potential as cosmetic ingredients [257][258][259]. They are non-toxic, biodegradable, and biocompatible [260,261], with diverse biological properties [170, [262][263][264][265][266][267], including antioxidant and antiradical effects [268][269][270][271]. These properties vary depending on molecular weight and sulfate content [272,273]. ...
The term 'cosmeceutical' refers to cosmetic products that offer medicinal or drug-like benefits. Marine algae are rich sources of bioactive compounds, particularly carbohydrates and peptides, which have gained attention for their potential in cosmeceuticals. These compounds are abundant, safe, and have minimal cytotoxicity effects. They offer various benefits to the skin, including addressing rashes, pigmentation, aging, and cancer. Additionally, they exhibit properties such as antimicrobial, skin-whitening, anti-aging, antioxidant, and anti-melanogenic effects. This review surveys the literature on the cosmeceutical potentials of algae-derived compounds, focusing on their roles in skin whitening, anti-aging, anticancer, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial applications. The discussion also includes current challenges and future opportunities for using algae for cosmeceutical purposes.
... The different algal groups are categorized on the basis of photosynthetic pigments, stored food material, cell wall composition, fine structure of cell and flagella. Based on this, algae are classified into three major groups [2]: Fucoidan, Alginates and Laminarin obtained from brown seaweeds [3], [49][50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57] Proteins Antiviral, antimicrobial, antiinflammatory and antioxidant activity, mediate intercellular communication, source of essential and important amino acids Lectins -an important bioactive protein extracted from macroalgae [3], [58][59] Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) Antibiotic, health improving and antifungal activity ...
Brown algae are a rich source of various specialized secondary metabolites which play a very important role in defense
mechanism against pathogens and also play a vital role in various biological activities. Phlorotannin is one of the
prominent secondary metabolites which is found in brown algae and is formed by the polymerization of phloroglucinol.
Their molecular weight ranges from 126 kDa – 650 kDa. The Phlorotannins exhibit different biological activities like anti
– diabetic, anti-proliferative, antioxidant, anti –HIV, antimicrobial and skin protection. These activities of the
Phlorotannins are used in the field of pharmacology and medicine to cure serious ailments/diseases. The main objective of
this review is to highlight the importance of the various biological activities of Phlorotannins in the field of medicine and
pharmacology. The study also includes structure, biosynthesis, isolation and extraction of Phlorotannins from brown algae
... Seaweed is suggested to have a positive impact on the environment by capturing CO 2 from the air, oxygenating water, providing shelter and food to marine animal life, and acting as a biogenic coastal defense by decreasing wave energy up to 85% (Zhu et al., 2021). On the other hand, seaweed such as sugar kelp contains valuable components, which have diverse applications in various industries, such as pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and food (Holdt & Kraan, 2011;Polat et al., 2021;Wijesinghe & Jeon, 2012). ...
Sugar kelp (Saccharina latissima) contains many functional components that can influence the dough and bread matrix. This study aimed to explore the efficacy of a liquid extract obtained from sugar kelp as a dough conditioner. The study employs a central composite design to investigate the interactions among three factors: an untreated extract, a heat-treated extract (targeting heat-sensitive components), and the presence of NaCl (natively abundant in kelp and potentially masking other functional components). The objective is to uncover the influences of the potential functional components and determine whether the liquid extract can function as a dough conditioner. The response surface methodology was used to analyze the impact on several volume and texture measurements and determine an optimal formula. A mixture of the heat-treated extract and untreated extract at different concentrations significantly enhanced loaf height and resilience while firmness decreased, compared to the conventional bread. The results show that a liquid extract obtained from sugar kelp can function as an effective dough conditioner in wheat bread.
... Studies have shown that natural polysaccharides modified by sulfation can not only enhance their original biological activities, but also generate new biological activities. Sulfated polysaccharides are non-toxic and can be used in foods, drugs, and health products [11,12]. ...
... It has been shown that fucoidans have several bioactive properties, such as anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, anti-coagulant, anti-virus, anti-prion, anti-oxidant, anti-hypertensive and anti-fibrotic activities and osteoinductivity (reviewed in [9,10]). Also, fucoidan is commonly used in food supplements and as an adjuvant in the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries [11,12]. ...
Osteosarcoma is a bone cancer primarily affecting teenagers. It has a poor prognosis and diminished quality of life after treatment due to chemotherapy side effects, surgical complications and post-surgical osteoporosis risks. The sulphated polysaccharide fucoidan, derived from brown algae, has been a subject of interest for its potential anti-cancer properties and its impact on bone regeneration. This study explores the influence of crude, low-molecular-weight (LMW, 10–50 kDa), medium-molecular-weight (MMW, 50–100 kDa) and high-molecular-weight (HMW, >100 kDa) fractions from Sargassum filipendula, harvested from the Colombian sea coast, as well as crude fucoidan from Fucus vesiculosus, on a specific human osteoprogenitor cell type, human embryonic-derived mesenchymal stem cells. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy coupled with attenuated total reflection (FTIR-ATR) results showed the highest sulphation levels and lowest uronic acid content in crude extract from F. vesiculosus. There was a dose-dependent drop in focal adhesion formation, proliferation and osteogenic differentiation of cells for all fucoidan types, but the least toxicity was observed for LMW and MMW. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), JC-1 (5,50,6,60-tetrachloro-1,10,3,30-tetraethylbenzimi-dazolylcarbocyanine iodide) staining and cytochrome c analyses confirmed mitochondrial damage, swollen ER and upregulated autophagy due to fucoidans, with the highest severity in the case of F. vesiculosus fucoidan. Stress-induced apoptosis-like cell death by F. vesiculosus fucoidan and stress-induced necrosis-like cell death by S. filipendula fucoidans were also confirmed. LMW and MMW doses of <200 ng/mL were the least toxic and showed potential osteoinductivity. This research underscores the multifaceted impact of fucoidans on osteoprogenitor cells and highlights the delicate balance between potential therapeutic benefits and the challenges involved in using fucoidans for post-surgery treatments in patients with osteosarcoma.
... Sargassum horneri has been used as a fundamental food and drug source in traditional Chinese medicine for centuries because of its perceived health benefits, and it is rich in amino acids, vitamins and polysaccharides. Recent research supports that sulfated polysaccharides extracted from Sargassum horneri display hoping bioactive substance, such as antitumor, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and moisturepreserving activities [31][32][33]. As far as our knowledge, few researches of the anti-Alzheimer's activity of enzymatically-modified sulfated polysaccharides isolated from Sargassum horneri have been performed. ...
In the present study, sulfated polysaccharides were obtained by digestion of Sargassum horneri and preparation with enzyme-assisted extraction using three food-grade enzymes, and their anti- Alzheimer’s activities were investigated. The results demonstrated that the crude sulfated polysaccharides extracted using AMGSP, CSP and VSP dose-dependently (25–100 µg·mL− 1) raised the spontaneous alternating manner (%) in the Y maze experiment of mice and reduced the escape latency time in Morris maze test. AMGSP, CSP and VSP also exhibited good anti-AChE and moderate anti-BuChE activities. CSP displayed the best inhibitory efficacy against AChE. with IC50 values of 9.77 µM. And, CSP also exhibited good inhibitory selectivity of AChE over BuChE. Next, CSP of the best active crude extract was separated by the preparation type high performance liquid phase to obtain the sulphated fucooligosaccharide section: SFcup (→3-α-L-fucp(2-SO3⁻)-1→4-α-L-fucp(2,3-SO3⁻)-1→section), SFcup showed a best inhibitory efficacy against AChE with IC50 values of 4.03 µM. The kinetic research showed that SFcup inhibited AChE through dual binding sites. Moreover, the molecular docking of SFcup at the AChE active site was in accordance with the acquired pharmacological results.
... SP contains a specific pattern of sulfation and branching that influences its binding to cell receptors, leading to the regulation of signaling pathways. Wijesinghe et al. 2012). Some studies have reported that molecules with high molecular weights show enhanced immunomodulatory activity (Yoo et al. 2019, Apostolova et al. 2020. ...
Sulfated polysaccharides (SPs) isolated from seaweed have emerged as remarkable bioactive compounds with a wide spectrum of biological activities and have substantial value in the scientific and industrial domains. The current study explores the diverse biological activities of SPs and their relationship with their structures. This aids in an in-depth examination of the multifaceted biological activities of SPs, including anticoagulant, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, antioxidant, and immunomodulatory properties, which underpin their potential health benefits. Furthermore, the current study explores the complicated properties of SPs, with their extraction methodologies and techniques for precise characterization. Elucidation of the commercial significance of SPs derived from brown, red, and green seaweed by highlighting their potential applications has emphasized their importance in human well-being. Further, this review emphasizes the challenges needed to overcome research and industrial innovations for SPs. Collaboration among researchers, industry stakeholders, and regulatory authorities can overcome these challenges and elevate the potential of SPs to revolutionize industries such as pharmaceuticals, cosmeceuticals, food, and biotechnology.
... D-Glucuronic acid is an important building block which can be found in a great number of natural compounds [1][2][3], some of them with promising biological activity profiles [4,5]. In these compounds, GlcA can be found in both αand β-form. ...
D-Glucuronic acid is a fundamental building block of many biologically important polysaccharides, either in its non-substituted form or bearing a variety of substituents, among them sulfates. We have previously performed a study of the effects of exhaustive sulfation on the conformational behavior of β-gluronopyranosides. Herein, we report an investigation comparing α- and β-derivatives of this monosaccharide within the title disaccharides using NMR and quantum chemistry approaches. It was found that for α-linked disaccharides, the introduction of sulfates did not greatly affect their conformational behavior. However, for β-derivatives, considerable conformational changes were observed. In general, they resemble those that took place for the monosaccharides, except that NOESY experiments and calculations of intra-ring spin–spin coupling constants suggest the presence of a 1S5 conformer along with 3S1 in the fully sulfated disaccharide. During the synthesis of model compounds, hydrogen bond-mediated aglycone delivery was used as an α-directing stereocontrol approach in the glucuronidation reaction.
... Fucoxanthin, extracted from Laminaria Japonica has demonstrated reduced metastasis and even increased OPEN sensitivity to chemotherapy drugs by lung cancer cells 7 . Overall, there is numerous evidence suggesting marine seaweed-originated compounds with biological activity for therapeutic purposes 4,5,[8][9][10] . Naturally occurring seaweeds are subjected to major environmental shifts as a result of seasonal changes in light radiation, temperature, salinity and other factors. ...
Seaweeds of the intertidal zone are subjected to diverse stresses due to environmental changes in radiation, salinity, water quality, herbivore communities, etc. Thus, marine seaweeds developed various unique compounds to deal with environmental fluctuations. Therefore, they are a good source of unique novel compounds. Here, we explored the seasonal metabolomic changes in Jania rubens and found notable changes between extracts of different seasons in the metabolomic profile and in their anticancer activity. The most bioactive extract was from samples collected during the Fall season, which demonstrated an LC50 of 178.39 (± 10.02 SD) µg/ml toward Non Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) followed by the Winter season extract. The Fall and Winter extracts also displayed more resemblance in their metabolic profile relative to Spring and Summer extracts. The Fall extract was fractionated and tested for cytotoxic activity toward an array of cancer cell lines. Eventually, using a bio-guided assay and multiple fractionation steps, we isolated and identified the essential fatty acid, eicosapentaenoic acid, as the active anticancer agent, showing an LC50 of 5.23 (± 0.07 SD) µg/ml toward NSCLC. Our results emphasize the potential use of J. rubens as a source of beneficial fatty acids and stress the importance of environmental effects on metabolic constitutes.
... Saccharina japonica is one of the most economically important seaweeds in China. In addition to being rich in nutrients, the polysaccharides contained in the sporophytes, such as alginate and fucoidan, have great potential for development and utilization in many fields including industry, medicine, and food [25,26]. However, the growth of S. japonica is predictably affected by environmental factors, such as temperature, diseases, and heavy metal ions, resulting in the reduction of yield. ...
Background
Glutathione S-transferase (GST) is a crucial enzyme for metabolism, detoxification, and stress resistance in organisms. Many GSTs have been identified in seaweeds, but the isolation and functional analysis of GSTs in Saccharina japonica have not been completed.
Result
In this study, a total of 32 SjGST genes, localized on 10 scaffolds and 6 contigs, were identified and categorized into three groups. Most of these SjGSTs were presumed to be distributed in the cytoplasm. Tandem duplication had a significant influence on the expansion of the SjGST gene family. Functional analysis of cis-acting elements in the promoter regions demonstrated that SjGSTs enhance the stress resistance of the kelp. Quantitative real-time PCR tests confirmed that SjGSTs positively influence S. japonica sporophytes under stress from low salinity, drought, and high temperature. Recombinant yeast tests further affirmed the role of SjGSTs in stress resistance; SjGSTs improved the growth rate of recombinant yeast under 1.5 M NaCl or 8 mM H2O2. Analysis of biochemical parameters indicated that the optimum temperatures for SjGST20 and SjGST22 were 20 °C, and the optimum pH values were 7.0 and 8.0 for SjGST20 and SjGST22, respectively. The Km values for the substrate 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene (CDNB) were 2.706 mM and 0.674 mM and were 6.146 mM and 3.559 mM for the substrate glutathione (GSH) for SjGST20 and SjGST22, respectively.
Conclusion
SjGSTs are important stress resistant genes in S. japonica. This research results will enhance our understanding the function of GSTs in brown seaweeds, and explained its functional roles in stress resistance in marine environments.
... Contemporary publications have shown the potential of seaweed as a source of food, nutraceuticals, and functional food products (Jyoti, Nehra, & Khan, 2022;Pandey et al., 2020;Zhang et al., 2012). The industrial application of fucoidan has received particular attention in attempts to understand the beneficial health effects and basic properties of fucoidan in brown seaweed (Vo and Kim, 2013;Wijesinghe and Jeon, 2012). However, there remain some limitations on the direct application of seaweed as an industry source. ...
... They have been shown to have a range of biological activities, including immunomodulatory effects. Immunomodulation refers to the ability of a substance to regulate the immune system, either by enhancing or suppressing its activity [12]. ...
Seaweed oligosaccharides are complex carbohydrates derived from various types of seaweed. They are widely studied due to their numerous potential health benefits for humans. There are several reasons why studying seaweed oligosaccharides is important. Firstly, seaweed is a renewable and sustainable resource, and it can be harvested without damaging the environment. Additionally, seaweed contains high health value and high levels of minerals, vitamins, and other bioactive compounds, which makes it a valuable source of nutrition. They can also help to modulate the immune system, improve gut health, and lower cholesterol levels. Research suggests that seaweed oligosaccharides may have therapeutic potential in the treatment of various diseases, such as diabetes, obesity, and cancer. They have also been discovered to have a number of applications in the food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries. In conclusion, studying seaweed oligosaccharides is important because they offer numerous potential health benefits for humans and have a wide range of applications in various industries.
... Recently the application of fucoidan in the field of pharmaceutical technology has been widely investigated. This polysaccharide plays an important role as a drug carrier for the formulation of various drug delivery systems, especially as a biopolymer with anticancer activity, used for targeted delivery of chemotherapeutics in oncology [4]. The polymer is characterized with easy structure-forming properties and can be used as a single carrier or in combination with other polymers for the formulation of innovative anticancer strategies with improved therapeutic efficacy, including micro-and nano-sized drug delivery systems. ...
Fucoidan belongs to the family of marine sulfated, L-fucose-rich polysaccharides found in the cell wall matrix of various brown algae species. In the last few years, sulfated polysaccharides have attracted the attention of researchers due to their broad biological activities such as anticoagulant, antithrombotic, antidiabetic, immunomodulatory, anticancer and antiproliferative effects. Recently the application of fucoidan in the field of pharmaceutical technology has been widely investigated. Due to its low toxicity, biocompatibility and biodegradability, fucoidan plays an important role as a drug carrier for the formulation of various drug delivery systems, especially as a biopolymer with anticancer activity, used for targeted delivery of chemotherapeutics in oncology. Furthermore, the presence of sulfate residues with negative charge in its structure enables fucoidan to form ionic complexes with oppositely charged molecules, providing relatively easy structure-forming properties in combination with other polymers. The aim of the present study was to overview essential fucoidan characteristics, related to its application in the development of pharmaceutical formulations as a single drug carrier or in combinations with other polymers. Special focus was placed on micro-and nanosized drug delivery systems with polysaccharides and their application in the field of oncology.
... Thus, we further determined the contents of carbohydrates and proteins, and found that their mass percentages were 39.0 % and 1.3 %, respectively, in BWPS, and 42.4 % and 2.5 %, respectively, in WEPS ( Table 2). As only very small amount of proteins was detected, we speculated that the polymers were most probably sulfated polysaccharides as was the case in many seaweed polysaccharides (e.g., [40]; and Supplementary Table S1). To test this, we measured their sulfate content and as expected high content of sulfate was found in both BWPS and WEPS --26.3 % and 21.6 %, respectively (Table 2) --suggesting the main components of the polymers were sulfated polysaccharides. ...
Seaweeds account for half of global mariculture and have become a key player in bio-based industries. Seaweed process typically starts with hot water blanching that helps reduce postharvest quality deterioration but also generates large amounts of hydrothermal waste. This study aims to explore the feasibility of isolating water-soluble biopolymers from seaweed hydrothermal waste and their potential applications. Using Saccharina japonica blanching water as example, 2.9 g/L of polymeric substances were efficiently isolated by ultrafiltration, implying biopolymer coproduction potential of ~5.8 kt from blanching wastewater of current kelp industry. Physicochemical characterizations revealed polysaccharidic nature of the biopolymers, with high contents of fucose, uronic acids and sulfate, showing distinct but also overlapping structural features with hot water-extracted kelp polysaccharides. The main fraction of the blanching water polymers after anion exchange chromatography was acidic polysaccharide, the major backbone residues of which were (1-4) linked mannopyranose, (1-4) linked gulopyranose and (1-2) linked fucopyranose while the branched residues were primarily 1,3,4-, 1,2,4- and 1,4,6-linked hexoses but also 1,3,4-fucopyranose. Furthermore, the polysaccharides were found to have a good compatibility in cosmetic creams with added cohesiveness and freshness, demonstrating the application potential of such natural biopolymers from currently underexplored seaweed blanching water.
... Enzyme-assisted extraction is one of the most popular methods for extracting such important bioactive compounds from seaweed. This method is widely used in industrial extraction owing to its high effectiveness, low pollution, and low production costs [33]. In this study, enzyme-assisted extraction was used to augment the bioactive characteristics of fucoidan; the crude polysaccharide was further purified using DEAE-cellulose column chromatography, which yielded three fractions. ...
Fucoidans are sulfate-rich polysaccharides with a wide variety of beneficial biological activities. The present study aimed to highlight the anti-inflammatory activity of fucoidan from the brown seaweed Sargassum autumnale (SA) against lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced RAW 264.7 macrophage cells. Among the isolated fucoidan fractions, the third fraction (SAF3) showed a superior protective effect on LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells. SAF3 inhibits nitric oxide (NO) production and expression of prostaglandin E-2 (PGE2) via downregulation of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX2) expression in LPS-induced RAW 26.7 cells. SAF3 treatment decreased pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1β, TNF-α, and IL-6 expression in LPS-induced cells. LPS stimulation activated NF-κB and MAPK signaling cascades in RAW 264.7 cells, while treatment with SAF3 suppressed them in a concentration-dependent manner. Existing outcomes confirm that SAF3 from S. autumnale possesses potent anti-inflammatory activity and exhibits good potential for application as a functional food ingredient or for the treatment of inflammation-related disorders.
The present study evaluated the potential use of methanolic extracts from two seaweeds from the Argentine Patagonian coasts, Macrocystis pyrifera and Undaria pinnatifida, as natural alternatives against Paenibacillus larvae. We carried out a detailed characterization of both seaweeds, comparing vegetative and reproductive thallus portions. We also assessed their phenolic content and antioxidant activity and evaluated the in vitro antibacterial action. Based on the minimal inhibitory concentration results, extracts from sporophyll of Undaria (US) and basal thallus portion of Macrocystis (MB) are strong inhibitors. US showed the best activity against P. larvae strain CMM(B)35 (12.2 μg/mL), and MB showed the same activity for strains CMM(B)35 and MAR1 (18.6 μg/mL). Antioxidant activity was higher in US, followed by MB, and a positive correlation was found with phenolic content. Taken together, our results indicate the role of specific chemical compounds present in algal extracts on antioxidant properties and antibacterial activity against P. larvae. We conclude that these seaweeds are promising alternatives against P. larvae.
Seaweeds are promising alternative sources of valuable bioactive compounds that could be used as functional agents for human health and in the food industry. Seaweed bioactives, including peptides and polysaccharides have investigated both in vitro and in vivo systems. Therefore, they have shown several attractive biological activities, such as antioxidant, anti-hypertensive, antimicrobial, antiviral, anticancer, anticoagulant, anti-inflammatory and prebiotic properties. They could also be exploited as dietary fiber, nutraceuticals, and functional foods. The biological properties of seaweed-derived peptides and polysaccharides are extremely correlated to their chemical structures. This chapter provides information on seaweed-derived bioactive polysaccharides and peptides, as bioactive compounds, and their beneficial impacts on human health with their potential applications in the food industry.
Biopolymers are a versatile and diverse class of materials that has won high interest due to their potential application in several sectors of the economy, such as cosmetics, medical materials/devices, and food additives. In the last years, the search for these compounds has explored a wider range of marine organisms that have proven to be a great alternative to mammal sources for these applications and benefit from their biological properties, such as low antigenicity, biocompatibility, and biodegradability, among others. Furthermore, to ensure the sustainable exploitation of natural marine resources and address the challenges of 3R’s policies, there is a current necessity to valorize the residues and by-products obtained from food processing to benefit both economic and environmental interests. Many extraction methodologies have received significant attention for the obtention of diverse polysaccharides, proteins, and glycosaminoglycans to accomplish the increasing demands for these products. The present review gives emphasis to the ones that can be obtained from marine biological resources, as agar/agarose, alginate and sulfated polysaccharides from seaweeds, chitin/chitosan from crustaceans from crustaceans, collagen, and some glycosaminoglycans such as chondroitin sulfate and hyaluronic acids from fish. It is offered, in a summarized and easy-to-interpret arrangement, the most well-established extraction and purification methodologies used for obtaining the referred marine biopolymers, their chemical structure, as well as the characterization tools that are required to validate the extracted material and respective features. As supplementary material, a practical guide with the step-by-step isolation protocol, together with the various materials, reagents, and equipment, needed for each extraction is also delivered is also delivered. Finally, some remarks are made on the needs still observed, despite all the past efforts, to improve the current extraction and purification procedures to achieve more efficient and green methodologies with higher yields, less time-consuming, and decreased batch-to-batch variability.
Graphical Abstract
The flavor of algae was one of the key factors for consumer acceptance. The objective of this study was to investigate the characteristic volatile compounds in cooking and seasoned cooking edible brown seaweeds (Undaria pinnatifida and Laminaria japonica). The gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry (GC-IMS) and electronic nose (E-nose) analysis showed that baking resulted in significant difference in flavor of brown seaweeds. However, the overall effect of cooking was not as significant as that of the seasoning solution treatment. Additionally, brown seaweeds treated with the seasoning solution were more acceptable. Undaria pinnatifida was found to contain 72 volatile flavor compounds, while Laminaria japonica had a total of 70. This study proved the applicability of GC-IMS combined with E-nose technology to detect the changes of volatile components of brown seaweeds after processing, providing beneficial knowledge and basic theory for the deep processing of brown seaweeds.
This book delves into the world of natural sources from medicinal plants, microbes, and fungi, to lichen, algae, and clay minerals that have been used for centuries in traditional medicine. These sources are rich in bioactive secondary metabolites that have a wide range of applications in various industries, including cosmetics and personal care products.
This book provides a comprehensive guide to secondary metabolites for cosmeceutical purposes, regulatory perspectives for cosmeceuticals in different countries, and allergic responses from these secondary metabolites. Additionally, this book discusses the impact of nanotechnology on cosmetic products such as skin and hair care.
Bioprospecting of Natural Sources for Cosmeceuticals is a valuable resource for researchers and graduate students in chemistry, botany, biotechnology, microbiology, cosmetic science, and the pharmaceutical sciences. It is also useful for those researching traditional medicine systems and those in the microbiology, biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and nanoscience industries.
Seaweeds or marine macroalgae are the oldest members of the plant kingdom, with a history extending back many hundreds of millions of years. Based on photosynthetic pigments, marine macroalgae can be classified into three groups, namely green algae commonly known as Chlorophyta, brown algae or Phaeophyta, and red algae also called Rhodophyta. In response to different kinds of environmental stress, marine algae develop defense strategies resulting in a significant level of structural chemical diversity, from different metabolic pathways. In this review a brief description of the most important seaweed compounds and their bioactivities are presented in this study. Seaweeds contain minerals, amino acids, proteins, fatty acids, lipids, polysaccharides, dietary fibers, vitamins, and various secondary metabolites, such as phenols, alkaloids, terpenes, and pigments. Many of these constituents possess high economic values and can be extracted to obtain antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, antimicrobial, antifungal, antiviral, anti-obesity, antidiabetic, and antihypertensive products. Therefore, a new trend to isolate and identify bioactive compounds and constituents from marine algae has emerged.
The sugar kelp Saccharina latissima has received intense scientific attention over the last decades. In recent years, interest in cultivation of the species has strongly increased in the North Atlantic Ocean and the Eastern Pacific Ocean, driven by the great potential of S. latissima to be utilised for various industrial applications, including food, feed, and biomaterials. Accordingly, current research has focused on improving farming methods and technology, environmental impacts, and site selection. In addition, many studies have investigated the varying chemical composition of S. latissima, extraction of commercially interesting components, and the use of the biomass and its derived components in various applications. This review provides a comprehensive overview of farming and applications of S. latissima from the last 15 years. Additional insights on other research topics, such as ecology, physiology, biochemical and molecular biology of S. latissima, are given in the first review, “The sugar kelp Saccharina latissima I: recent advances in a changing climate” (Diehl et al. 2023).
The sugar kelp Saccharina latissima has received intense scientific attention over the last decades. In recent years, interest in cultivation of the species has strongly increased in the North Atlantic Ocean and the Eastern Pacific Ocean, driven by the great potential of S. latissima to be utilised for various industrial applications, including food, feed, and biomaterials. Accordingly, current research has focused on improving farming methods and technology, environmental impacts, and site selection. In addition, many studies have investigated the varying chemical composition of S. latissima, extraction of commercially interesting components, and the use of the biomass and its derived components in various applications. This review provides acomprehensive overview of farming and applications of S. latissima from the last 15 years. Additional insights on other research topics, such as ecology, physiology, biochemical and molecular biology of S. latissima, are given in the first review, “The sugar kelp Saccharina latissima I: recent advances in a changing climate” (Diehl et al. 2023).
Chronic inflammation is a common underlying factor in many major diseases, including heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and autoimmune disorders, and is responsible for up to 60% of all deaths worldwide. Metformin, statins, and corticosteroids, and NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) are often given as anti-inflammatory pharmaceuticals, however, often have even more debilitating side effects than the illness itself. The natural product-based therapy of inflammation-related diseases has no adverse effects and good beneficial results compared to substitute conventional anti-inflammatory medications. In this review article, we provide a concise overview of present pharmacological treatments, the pathophysiology of inflammation, and the signaling pathways that underlie it. In addition, we focus on the most promising natural products identified as potential anti-inflammatory therapeutic agents. Moreover, preclinical studies and clinical trials evaluating the efficacy of natural products as anti-inflammatory therapeutic agents and their pragmatic applications with promising outcomes are reviewed. In addition, the safety, side effects and technical barriers of natural products are discussed. Furthermore, we also summarized the latest technological advances in the discovery and scientific development of natural products-based medicine.
Fucoidan (FU) is a natural polymer from marine organisms, which has been widely studied and applied in drug delivery. In this study, FU nanoparticles loaded with proanthocyanidins (PCs) (FU/PCs NPs) were prepared and their effect and mechanism in protecting cisplatin-induced acute kidney injury (AKI) were studied. The in vitro studies confirmed that FU/PCs NPs increased the antioxidant activity of free PCs and protected the death of human kidney proximal tubule (HK-2) cells induced by cisplatin. Further mechanism studies showed that FU/PCs NPs protected the mitochondrial damage induced by cisplatin, activated mitophagy, inhibited the release of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), and inhibited the cGAS/STING signal pathway. The in vivo results also indicated that FU/PCs NPs protected cisplatin-induced AKI, including inhibiting the increase of blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and serum creatinine (SCr) levels induced by cisplatin. The mechanism studies confirmed that cisplatin induced an increase in the expression of mitophagy-related protein Pink/Pakrin, mitochondrial mtDNA release and cGAS/STING expression in mice kidney tissues. Pre-administration of FU/PCs NPs further activated mitophagy, as well as inhibiting mtDNA release and cGAS/STING expression. In conclusion, our research proved the role of mitophagy-mtDNA-cGAS/STING signal was involved in cisplatin-induced AKI.
The purpose of this review is to consider the biological properties, other than anticoagulant and antithrombotic, of sulfated polysaccharides extracted from algae, especially fucans, carrageenans and chemically modified alginic acid derivatives.
The comparative study of the content and structure characteristics of water-soluble polysaccharides, laminarans and fucoidans, of some wide-spread in the far-eastern seas brown seaweeds, collected in different places, at various stages of development, and in different seasons was conducted. The contents and structures of these glycans from Laminaria cichorioides vary depending on the season of yield and seaweed's age. The mature L. cichorioides was shown to be the richest source of both polysaccharides with almost equal of their contents (ca. 10%). The content and structure of both laminarans and fucoidans in Fucus evanescens were shown to vary considerably with the place of growth. The samples of Laminaria japonica were taken from two subspecies with 1-year and 2-year cycles of the development. Both subspecies were revealed to have a little of fucoidan (about 5%) and negligible quantity of laminaran (less than 1%). Fucoidans isolated from the mature L. cichorioides algae are practically pure high-sulfated α-l-fucans. Fucose was the predominant monosaccharide in fucoidans from F. evanescens and L. japonica; however, fucoidans of F. evanescens were enriched with xylose while those from L. japonica were enriched with galactose. The structure of highly sulfated α-l-fucan from mature L. cichorioides having the strongest activity towards APC was studied in detail.
The galactofucan sulfate extract (GFS) obtained from the brown seaweed Undaria
pinnatifida by extraction with dilute acid is a potent inhibitor of the herpes viruses HSV-1, HSV-2 and HCMV, with IC50 values determined in vitro of 1.1, 0.2 and 0.5 μgmL−1, respectively. Fractionation of GFS by anion exchange chromatography gave three fractions which differed in their uronic acid and sulfate contents and in their antiviral activity, as well as in having somewhat reduced molecular weights compared to GFS. The low uronic acid/high sulfate fraction (F2M), obtained in 63% yield, had similar molar proportions of galactopyranosyl and fucopyranosyl residues, little associated protein and was equipotent with GFS (IC50 values of 1.1, 0.1 and 0.5 μgmL−1, respectively). The high uronic acid/low sulfate fraction (F1M), obtained in 18% yield, had a much lower proportion of galactopyranosyl residues and was less active (IC50 values of 4.6, 1.0 and 4.0 μgmL−1, respectively). The minor low uronic acid/high sulfate fraction (F4M) had a significant amount of associated protein and was also less active (IC50 = 3.1, 1.0 and 2.0 μgmL−1, respectively). The structure of the major fraction (F2M) was shown to be complex by glycosyl linkage analysis before and after solvolytic desulfation, with many component sugar residues being identified, although 3-linked fucopyranosyl 2,4-disulfate residues were a prominent feature.
Seaweed is more than the wrap that keeps rice together in sushi. Seaweed biomass is already used for a wide range of other
products in food, including stabilising agents. Biorefineries with seaweed as feedstock are attracting worldwide interest
and include low-volume, high value-added products and vice versa. Scientific research on bioactive compounds in seaweed usually
takes place on just a few species and compounds. This paper reviews worldwide research on bioactive compounds, mainly of nine
genera or species of seaweed, which are also available in European temperate Atlantic waters, i.e. Laminaria sp., Fucus sp., Ascophyllum nodosum, Chondrus crispus, Porphyra sp., Ulva sp., Sargassum sp., Gracilaria sp. and Palmaria palmata. In addition, Undaria pinnatifida is included in this review as this is globally one of the most commonly produced, investigated and available species. Fewer
examples of other species abundant worldwide have also been included. This review will supply fundamental information for
biorefineries in Atlantic Europe using seaweed as feedstock. Preliminary selection of one or several candidate seaweed species
will be possible based on the summary tables and previous research described in this review. This applies either to the choice
of high value-added bioactive products to be exploited in an available species or to the choice of seaweed species when a
bioactive compound is desired. Data are presented in tables with species, effect and test organism (if present) with examples
of uses to enhance comparisons. In addition, scientific experiments performed on seaweed used as animal feed are presented,
and EU, US and Japanese legislation on functional foods is reviewed.
KeywordsHigh value-added products–Health promotion–Biorefinery–Nutraceutical–Pharmaceutical–Feed supplement
The antioxidant activities of brown algal phlorotannins were evaluated using the inhibition of phospholipid peroxidation in
the liposome system, and by determining radical scavenging activities against the superoxide anion and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl
(DPPH). Oligomers of phloroglucinol (1,3,5-trihydroxybenzene), eckol (a trimer), phlorofucofuroeckol A (a pentamer), dieckol
and 8,8′-bieckol (hexamers), isolated from the Laminarian brown algae Eisenia bicyclis, Ecklonia cava and Ecklonia kurome, showed potent inhibition of phospholipid peroxidation at 1μM in the liposome system. The phlorotannins had significant
radical scavenging activities against the superoxide anion (50% effective concentration values: 6.5–8.4μM) and DPPH (50%
effective concentration values: 12–26μM), and were more effective compared to ascorbic acid and α-tocopherol. For the purpose
of using phlorotannins as functional food ingredients, the antioxidant activity of a complex of crude phlorotannins and soybean
protein was examined. The complex had a pronounced DPPH-radical scavenging activity. These results suggest that phlorotannins
are potent anti-inflammatory substances, and that the Laminariaceous brown algae, which are abundant in phlorotannins, may
be useful as a new functional foodstuff or supplement with anti-inflammatory activity.
Surface plasmon resonance is an important technique for studying molecular interactions and was used to investigate the molecular
interaction of anticoagulant sulfated polysaccharides purified from an enzymatic hydrolysate of the brown alga Ecklonia cava (ECA) with blood coagulation factors. In a direct binding assay, binding affinity between ECA/antithrombin III (ATIII) and
activated blood coagulation factors was in the order: factor VIIa (FVIIa) > factor Xa (FXa) > thrombin (FIIa); kinetic analysis
determined K
D values of ECA for FVIIa, FXa, and FIIa of 15.1, 45.0 and 65.0nM, respectively. Therefore, ECA strongly and selectively (FVII,
FX, and FII) enhanced ATIII-mediated coagulation factor inhibition in both the extrinsic and common coagulation pathways.
This may contribute to its high anticoagulant activity in vitro. The low cytotoxicity of ECA to venous endothelial cell line
(ECV-304) also expands its value in future in vivo studies. However, to utilize it as a model for novel anticoagulant agents,
its possible interference with other anticoagulant mechanisms must be addressed.
In this study, the antiproliferative activity of a crude extract isolated from Bifurcaria bifurcata (Velley) Ross, a common marine brown alga of the Atlantic shores of Europe, was investigated. Its antiproliferative effect on asynchronous cells of a human non-small-cell bronchopulmonary carcinoma line (NSCLC-N6), particularly chemo-resistant, was expected in vitro. Cell growth appeared to be inhibited in the G1 phase of the cell cycle, and kinetic studies in pretreated cells showed that this growth arrest was irreversible. These events are related to a terminal differentiation induction.
Ethanolic extracts from the roots of wild licorice (Glycyrrhiza lepidota), narrow-leaved echinacea (Echinacea angustifolia), senega (Polygala senega), leaves of bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi) and aerial parts of two varieties of horsetail (Equisetum spp.) were prepared and evaluated for their free-radical scavenging capacity and their antioxidant activity, by a number of chemical assays. Assays employed included a β-carotene-linoleic acid (linoleate) model system, reducing power, scavenging effect on the DPPH free radical and capacity to scavenge hydroxyl free radicals (HO), by use of electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. The bearberry-leaf extract consistently exhibited the highest antioxidant activity based on the tests performed, and seems to be a promising source of natural antioxidants. The polyphenolic constituents appear to be responsible, at least in part, for the extract's radical-scavenging capacity. Research is progressing to characterize the antioxidant compounds in the bearberry-leaf extract and their mode of action in imparting antioxidant activity to various food systems.
Fucoidans, sulfated polysaccharides of brown algae, have attracted steady attention in the last few years as readily accessible biopolymers possessing a wide spectrum of biological activities. In this study, cardioprotective activity of fucoidan extracted from Cladosiphon okamuranus was evaluated in isoproterenol induced myocardial infarction in rats. Male Wistar albino rats (180±25 g) were divided in to four groups of six animals each as follows: Group (1) control, Group (2) isoproterenol alone, Group (3) fucoidan alone and Group (4) fucoidan+isoproterenol. To evaluate the efficacy of fucoidan treatment against isoproterenol induced myocardial damage, biochemical parameters and histopathological studies were carried out. Isoproterenol administration produced severe myocardial damage and high lipid peroxidation level. On the contrary, fucoidan treatment reduced myocardial damage, which has been reflected by improvement in parameters such as creatinine phosphokinase (CPK), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), alanine transaminase (ALT) and aspartate transaminase (AST). In addition, fucoidan improved the antioxidant defence system in treated animals and considerably reduced the oxidative stress exerted by isoproterenol. The reduction in oxidative stress in Group (4) was evident from the lipid peroxidation and antioxidant activities. Furthermore, the increase in the levels of total cholesterol, triglycerides and low density lipoprotein (LDL) and decrease in the levels of high density lipoprotein (HDL) was significantly reversed in Group (4), when compared with Group (2). The histopathological studies also showed that fucoidan treatment significantly minimized the damage induced by isoproterenol. Thus, fucoidan provide cardioprotection against isoproterenol induced myocardial infarction in rats.
The dermatan sulfate (DS) isolated from the ray skin Raja montagui was identified and characterized. Its average molecular weight (Mw) and sulfate content were 39 kDa and 25% w/w, respectively. This DS prolonged thrombin time and activated partial thromboplastin time and inhibited the thrombin generation in a concentration-dependent manner whereas it had no effect on the anti-Xa assay and on platelet function. Data from the anti-IIa assay allowed the assessment of the specific anticoagulant activity which was 40 units/mg. The kinetics of the thrombin inhibition by heparin cofactor II (HCII) has been studied as a function of DS concentration according to a kinetic model in which the polysaccharide binds quickly to the inhibitor and forms a complex more reactive than the free inhibitor towards thrombin. This DS accelerated thrombin inhibition exclusively by HCII. The dissociation constant of the DS-HCII complex, K(DSHCII), and the rate constant of the thrombin inhibition by this complex, k, were (2.93+/-0.25)x10(-6)M and (2.2+/-0.35)x10(9)M(-1)min(-1), respectively. Our findings indicated that the major polysaccharide in the skin of the ray Raja montagui was a DS endowed with a high anticoagulant effect mediated by HCII and which may constitute an anticoagulant drug of interest in anticoagulant therapy.
A fucoidan, isolated from Korean Undaria pinnatifida spoprophyll (UP-F), was investigated for its immunomodulating activity on murine macrophages and splenocytes, and its activity was compared with that of fucoidan from Fucus vesiculosus (FV-F). Treatment of UP-F resulted in inhibition of the growth of murine macrophage RAW 264.7 cells, but its cytotoxicity was not observed in normal murine splenocytes. FV-F was shown to be highly cytotoxic to both immune cells, and its cytotoxic activity was higher than that of UP-F. Treatment of UP-F induced TNF-? in a dose-dependent manner from two types of macrophages, RAW 264.7 cells and murine peritoneal macrophages. The TNF-?-inducing activity of UP-F was higher than that of FV-F. UP-F also actively induced chemokines (RANTES and MIP-1?) from RAW 264.7 cells. Furthermore, treatment of UP-F gave rise to activation of murine splenocytes to produce cytokine (IL-6) and chemokines (RANTES and MIP-1?), showing significantly higher activity than that of FV-F. These results indicate that UP-F is less cytotoxic to immune cells than FV-F, and possesses immunomodulating activity to produce cytokines and chemokines from macrophages and splenocytes.
The soluble and insoluble dietary fibre contents of seven marine algae ('sea vegetables'): wakame (Undaria pinnatifida), hijiki (Hijiki fusiformis), sea spaghetti (Himanthalia elongata), arame (Eisenia bicyclis), sea lettuce (Ulva lactuca), A O nori (Enteromorpha spp), and nori (Porphyra tenera) were determined by the gravimetric method of Prosky et al (J Assoc Anal Chem 1988, 71 1017-1023) following some adaptations. These seaweeds are particularly rich in dietary fibres with total dietary fibre contents varying between 32.7 and 74.6% (on a dry weight basis) of which 51.6 to 85.0% are water soluble. Marine algae appear to be good sources of fibres presenting great chemical, physico-chemical and rheological diversities that may be beneficial in nutrition.
Several Korean medicinal plants were selected to evaluate for free radical scavenging capacities and antioxidant activities using commonly accepted assays. They were extracted with dichloromethane, methanol or ethanol, respectively and selected for the best antioxidant results. Flavonoids, such as catechin, morin, naringenin, quercetin and rutin, were included and used as standards in this study. Each sample under assay condition showed a dose-dependent free radical scavenging effect of DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl hydrazyl radical) and a dose-dependent inhibitory effect of xanthine oxidase and lipid peroxidation. Among plant extracts, the root bark of Morusalba and the leaf of Saururuschinensis showed stronger SC50 or ID50 values than other plant extracts. They also showed a protective effect on DNA damage caused by hydroxyl radicals generated from UV-induced photolysis of hydrogen peroxide. A rapid evaluation for antioxidants using TLC screening and DPPH staining methods demonstrated each plant extract having various free radical scavenging capacity. Stained silica layer revealed a purple background with yellow spots at the location of drops, which showed radical scavenging capacity. The intensity of the yellow color depends upon the amount and nature of radical scavenger present in the samples. This antioxidant potential corresponded with the results of DPPH spectrophotometric assay.
Phloroglucinol derivatives, dioxinodehydroeckol (1) and 1-(3′,5′-dihydroxyphenoxy)-7-(2′′,4′′,6-trihydroxyphenoxy)-2,4,9-trihydroxydibenzo-1,4-dioxin (2), were isolated from Ecklonia Cava. Their ability to inhibit the proliferation of human breast cancer cells were evaluated by measuring cell death via induction of apoptosis. Compound 1 exerted a higher anti-proliferative activity in human breast cancer cells compared with compound 2. Furthermore, compound 1 induced a significant proliferative inhibition and apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner on MCF-7 human cancer cells. Treatment with compound 1 also induced the increase in caspase (-3 and -9) activity, DNA repair enzyme poly-(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) cleavage, and pro-apoptotic gene and the decrease in anti-apoptotic gene. In addition, NF-κB family and -dependent activated genes were down-regulated by compound 1. These results indicated that the potential inhibitory effect of compound 1 against growth of MCF-7 human breast cancer cells might be associated with induction of apoptosis through NF-κB family and NF-κB dependent pathway. The present results suggest that compound 1 has a promising potential to be used as a valuable chemopreventive agent.
Proximate composition (moisture, ash, protein and oil content), total dietary fibre content and physicochemical properties of three brown and two red edible Spanish seaweeds, namely: Himanthalia elongata (sea spaghetti), Bifurcaria bifurcata, Laminaria saccharina (sweet kombu), Mastocarpus stellatus and Gigartina pistillata were studied. Ashes (24.9–36.4%) were high in all samples. Protein content ranged from 10.9 to 25.7%, being much higher for Laminaria (25.7%) followed by the red seaweeds (15.5–21.3%). Minor components were lipids (0.3–0.9%) in all samples except for Bifurcaria (5.6%). Total dietary fibre content ranged from 29.3 to 37.4% of which 39.1–74.7% was soluble. For brown algae, the soluble fibre contained uronic acids from alginates and neutral sugars from sulphated fucoidan and laminarin. For red seaweeds, the main neutral sugars corresponded to sulphated galactans (carrageenan or agar). Insoluble fibres (7.4–22.7%) were essentially made of cellulose with an important contribution of Klason lignin especially in brown seaweeds (9.5–10.8%). Regarding the main physicochemical properties, swelling and water retention capacity were high in all samples, while oil retention was low, related to the hydrophilic nature of fibre polysaccharides. In conclusion, these seaweeds can be estimated as a good source of food fibre, protein and minerals for human consumption.
This work proposes a scheme for completely treating heavy metal laboratory waste liquid. Ten common heavy metals and various anions were adopted to synthesize the simulated laboratory waste liquid. Experimental results demonstrated that although conventional ferrite process (FP) could not be used to treat the simulated waste liquid completely, the enhanced FP, i.e., the extended reaction ferrite process (ERFP), could be used to satisfy regulatory limits. FeSO4 can be added in the extended stage of ERFP intermittently rather than continuously. Elutriation was conducted to reduce the cost of ERFP and ensure that the sludge met toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP) standards. The pH of the elutriation liquid should be greater than 2.88. This work also establishes that FP or ERFP can be applied directly to treat dichromate and permanganate without a prior reduction step.
In this study, the anticoagulant activity of a sulfated polysaccharide purified from enzyme assistant extract of brown seaweed Ecklonia cava (ECSP) was investigated both in vitro and in vivo. The sulfated polysaccharide purified from AMG assistant extract of E. cava showed anticoagulant activity comparable to that of a commercial fucoidan in activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), thrombin time (TT) and prothrombin time (PT) clotting assays in vitro. In Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), similar transmittance was observed for the commercial fucoidan and ECSP with an intense absorption band at 1240 and 820cm−1 indicating its high sulfate content. The administration of the anticoagulant drug in rats clearly extended the coagulation time in a dose dependent and time dependent manner in both APTT and TT assays, especially a clear effect was observed at 30min after the initial sample treatment. In the tail bleeding assay, ECSP showed prolonged bleeding time (>1800±05.1s) than the control (900±20.1s) at the dosage of 300μg/kg. With the current findings ECSP might be a promising candidate in pharmaceutical applications as a natural anticoagulant.
The fractionation of acidic polysaccharides by ion exchange chromatography followed by agarose gel electrophoresis in a special buffer system made of 1,3-diaminopropane has shown that the algae of the class Phaeophycea, order Dictyotales (Dictyota mertensis and Padina gymnospora) and order Fucales (Sargassum vulgare) as well as its floaters contain 4 main acidic polysaccharides. The compounds have a distinct electrophoretic mobility and are eluted at different concentrations of NaCl from the anion exchange resin. The chemical analyses of the compounds indicate that all the 3 algae contain alginic acid, a xylofucan and 2 species of fucans with different sulfate contents. The main findings of these studies were that this class of algae contains 4 main acidic polysaccharides and that they were similar regarding the sugar composition and sulfate content when the 3 algae were compared. The findings that the acidic polysaccharides migrate as single discrete components in electrophoresis suggest that they have defined structures and as a consequence, the sugars and sulfate residues are not randomly present in the polymer chains. These observations lead also to the conclusion that the quantitative differences of the sugars present in the crude polysaccharide mixture of the 3 algae are due to the relative proportions of the 4 acidic polysaccharides.
Fucoidan was sulfated using chlorosulfonic acid-pyridine complex and isolated as the sodium salt. Infrared analysis of the native and sulfated fucoidans gave identical results in respect to the O-H stretching, hemiacetal stretching and SO stretching. Absorption around 840 cm-1 was also present in both the fucoidans representing the sulfate at the axial C-4 position except for a shoulder at 820 cm-1, which was present only in the sulfated compound indicating the presence of sulfate groups at the equatorial C-2 position. The sulfated compound showed four times higher anticoagulant activity in doubling prothrombin time of normal citrated human plasma in comparison with native fucoidan. Earlier studies using native fucoidan showed that the activation of glutamic plasminogen (Glu-Plg) by tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) or by urokinase (u-PA) was enhanced when the in vitro studies were conducted using 0.05 M Tris buffer (pH 7.4) and that the addition of physiological concentration of NaCl (0.9%) to the buffer reversed the activation. The results of the current studies showed that sulfated fucoidan gave higher stimulations of Glu-Plg activation by u-PA and by t-PA in comparison to native fucoidan when the in vitro studies are conducted using Tris buffer containing 0.9% NaCl. © 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
The soluble and insoluble dietary fibre contents of seven marine algae (‘sea vegetables’): wakame (Undaria pinnatifida), hijiki (Hijiki fusiformis), sea spaghetti (Himanthalia elongata), arame (Eisenia bicyclis), sea lettuce (Ulva lactuca), A O nori (Enteromorpha spp), and nori (Porphyra tenera) were determined by the gravimetric method of Prosky et al (J Assoc Anal Chem 1988, 71 1017–1023) following some adaptations. These seaweeds are particularly rich in dietary fibres with total dietary fibre contents varying between 32·7 and 74·6% (on a dry weight basis) of which 51·6 to 85·0% are water soluble. Marine algae appear to be good sources of fibres presenting great chemical, physico-chemical and rheological diversities that may be beneficial in nutrition.
Algal fucoidan is a marine sulfated polysaccharide that evidences a variety of biological activities. We assessed the potential activity of the sulfated polysaccharide from Ecklonia cava, on anti-inflammatory activity in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells. In this study, E. cava was hydrolyzed by five carbohydrases and five proteases. Our findings demonstrated that the AMG extract has the highest yield and exerts the most profound inhibitory effects against NO production. To identify the active compounds, we conducted micro-filtration membrane, ethanol-added separation, and anion exchange and gel permeation chromatography; the purified polysaccharide (PPS) was subsequently obtained. PPS significantly inhibited NO production, prostaglandin-E2 (PGE2) production and suppressed inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expression in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells. Thus, PPS inhibited NO and PGE2 production via the inhibition of iNOS and COX-2. These results indicate that the anti-inflammatory activity of PPS may be attributable to the modulation of anti-inflammatory agents.
Optimal conditions for the extraction of phenolic compounds, anthocyanins, flavanols and ORAC antioxidant activity for two mashua genotypes were determined using the conventional liquid–solid method. Phenolic contents and antioxidant activity were affected by the type of solvent, pH level, solvent–water ratio and extraction time. In general, no significant differences in total phenolic recovery and ORAC values were observed when 90% methanol or methanol/acetone/water (45/45/10), both with 0.1% HCl, were used. By contrast, the 90% methanol solution with 0.1% HCl extracted the highest level of anthocyanins, whereas the solvent mixture extracted the highest level of flavanols. The purified extracts from the mashua genotypes presented total phenolics and ORAC contents within the ranges 14.4–18.7 mg gallic acid equivalents/g mashua dry matter (DM) and 221–359 μmol of trolox equivalents/g mashua DM, respectively. The HPLC-DAD phenolic profiles obtained for the purified phenolic extracts for both mashua genotypes showed differences in proportions (% total area at 280 and 520 nm) depending on the solvents selected in this study. The high content of phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity found in the purified extracts for both mashua genotypes indicated that mashua extracts might be considered as a potential source of nutraceuticals in the future.
Sulfated polysaccharides from the green algae Ulva conglobata were isolated and prepared by extraction in hot water, precipitation with ethanol and purification by ion-exchange and size-exclusion column chromatography. The characterizations of the sulfated polysaccharides were defined, and containing 23.04–35.20% sulfate ester groups, 10.82–14.91% uronic acid and 3.82–4.51% protein. Gas chromatography analysis shows that the sulfated polysaccharides from Ulva conglobata are mainly consisted of rhamnose with variable contents of glucose and fucose, trace amounts of xylose, glactose and mannose. The anticoagulant properties of the sulfated polysaccharides were compared with those of heparin by studying the activated partial thromboplastin time using normal human plasma. The sulfated polysaccharide from Ulva conglobata collected in Qingdao, China is the most potent among the sulfated polysaccharides tested. The mechanism of anticoagulant activity mediated by the sulfated polysaccharides is due to the direct inhibition of thrombin and the potentiation of heparin cofactor II.
An anticoagulant isolated from the marine green alga Codium pugniformis was composed mainly of glucose with minor amounts of arabinose and galactose. It was highly sulfated (326 μg mg-1 polysaccharide) and contained protein(52 μg mg-1 polysaccharide) and was thus a proteoglycan. The anticoagulant properties of the purified proteoglycan were compared with
those of heparin by studying the activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), prothrombin time (PT) and thrombin time(TT)
using normal human plasma. The proteoglycan showed similar activities to heparin, but was weaker than heparin. On the other
hand, the proteoglycan did not affect PT even at the concentration at which APTT and TT were prolonged. The anticoagulation
mechanism of this proteoglycan was due to the direct inhibition of thrombin and the potentiation of antithrombin III.
Seaweeds are the primary producers of all aquatic ecosystems. Chemical constituents isolated from diverse classes of seaweeds
exert a wide range of nutritional, functional and biological activities. Unique metabolites of seaweeds possess specific biological
properties that make them potential ingredients of many industrial applications such as functional foods, pharmaceuticals
and cosmeceuticals. Cosmeceuticals of natural origin are becoming more popular than synthetic cosmetics. Hence, the investigation
of new seaweeds derived functional components, a different source of natural products, has proven to be a promising area of
cosmeceutical studies. Brown seaweeds also produce a range of active components including unique secondary metabolites such
as phlorotannins and many of which have specific biological activities that give possibilities for their economic utilization.
Brown seaweeds derived active compounds have been shown various functional properties including, antioxidant, antiwrinkling,
whitening, antiinflammatory and antiallergy. It is well-known that these kind of biological effects are closely associated
with cosmeceutical preparations. This communication reviews the current knowledge on brown seaweeds derived metabolites with
various biological activities and the potential use as cosmeceutical ingredients. It is hoped that the reviewed literature
on multifunctional properties of brown seaweeds will improve access to the seaweed based natural products specially the ability
to incorporate these functional properties in cosmeceutical applications.
KeywordsBiological properties–Natural products–Phaeophyceae–Phytochemicals–Secondary metabolites
Durvillaea antarctica was extracted with hot water and a sulfate containing polymer was obtained after separation of laminaran and alginic acid with cetrimide and 2% calcium chloride solutions, respectively. Gel electrophoresis showed that the acidic polysaccharide (23.5% sulfate, 4.5% uronic acid) was not homogeneous. It was fractionated by anion-exchange chromatography on DEAE Sephadex with increasing concentrations of KC1 solutions affording seven fractions. All the fractions showed blood-anticoagulant activity. The fraction eluted with 1.2 M KC1 (34.85% sulfate, 1.4% uronic acid) showed the highest thrombin time. The plaque inhibition and the transcription assays of the whole acidic polysaccharide and the partial hydrolysis product against the infectious pancreatic necrosis virus showed a slight antiviral effect.
The fucose-containing polymer from D. antarcica is a mixture of sulfated polysaccharides with a different content of sulfate groups and uronic acids. A correlation was observed between the anticoagulant effect uronic acids content.
A β-N-acetylglucosaminidase produced by a novel fungal source, the moderately thermophilic aerobic ascomycete Talaromyces emersonii, was purified to apparent homogeneity. Submerged fermentation of T. emersonii, in liquid medium containing algal fucoidan as the main carbon source, yielded significant amounts of extracellular N-acetylglucosaminidase activity. The N-acetylglucosaminidase present in the culture-supernatant was purified by hydrophobic interaction chromatography and preparative
electrophoresis. The enzyme is a dimer with molecular weight and pI values of 140 and 3.85, respectively. Substrate specificity
studies confirmed the glycan specificity of the enzyme for N-acetylglucosamine. Michaelis-Menten kinetics were observed during enzyme-catalyzed hydrolysis of the fluorescent substrate
methylumbelliferyl-β-D-N-acetylglucosaminide at 50°C, pH 5.0 (Km value of 0.5mM). The purified N-acetylglucosaminidase displayed activity over broad ranges of pH and temperature, yielding respective optimum values of pH
5.0 and 75°C. The T. emersonii enzyme was less susceptible to inhibition by N-acetylglucosamine and other related sugars than orthologs from other sources. The enzyme was sensitive to Hg2+, Co2+ and Fe3+.
In this study, hot water extracts of 22 red algal species were evaluated for their potential anticoagulant activities. The
extracts from eight species (Grateloupia elliptica, Sinkoraena lancifolia, Halymenia dilatata, Grateloupia lanceolata, Lomentaria catenata, Martensia denticulata,
Schizymenia dubyi, Chondrus crispus) showed potent activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT). Of these eight algae, the crude polysaccharide fraction (CpoF)
from the hot water extracts of L. catenata and S. dubyi showed the highest APTT activity. Lomentaria catenata and S. dubyi were selected and an enzymatic digestion process which could effectively separate a crude polysaccharide fraction with higher
yields from raw algae materials was applied. The 10 enzymes tested included five carbohydrases and five proteases. The Ultraflo
and Celluclast digests of L. catenata and the AMG digest of S. dubyi exhibited the most potent anticoagulant activity. Furthermore, in both species, the active compounds were mainly concentrated
in the >30kDa fraction through ultrafiltration and showed strong APTT (>1000) and thrombin time (TT) >1000 activity. The
active compounds were shown to be sulfated galactans with a greater than 80% galactose content and an 0.22 ∼ 0.31 sulfate
to total sugar ratio.
Chemical modification of carbohydrates can lead to differences in their biological activities. We previously showed that κ-carrageenan
oligosaccharides from Kappaphycus striatum have antitumor and immunomodulation effects on S180-bearing mice. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that different
chemical modifications of carrageenan oligosaccharides enhance their activities. The mice inoculated with S180 cell suspension
were treated p.o. with carrageenan oligosaccharides and their sulfated, acetylated, and phosphorylated derivatives (50, 100,
and 200μgg−1) for 14days. Transplantable tumor inhibition rate and macrophage phagocytosis, quantitative hemolysis of sheep red blood
cells, lymphocyte proliferation, the activity of natural killer cells, production of interleukin-2, and tumor necrosis factor-α
were also analyzed. As expected, treatment with different κ-carrageenan oligosaccharides derivatives resulted in an increase
in tumor inhibition rate and macrophage phagocytosis and cellular immunity, especially on spleen lymphocyte proliferation.
The sulfated derivative at the dose 200μgg−1 per day showed the highest antitumor activity with the 54.12% tumor weight inhibition and elicited an increase in nature
killer cells activity up to 76.1% on S180-bearing mice, which were both significantly higher than the unmodified oligosaccharides.
It suggested that chemical modification (especially sulfation) of carrageenan oligosaccharides can enhance their antitumor
effect and boost their antitumor immunity.
KeywordsCarrageenan–Oligosaccharides–Derivatives–Antitumor–Immunomodulation–Chemical modification
Various carbohydrate polymers have during the last decades been shown to be responsible for biological effects, either by
exhibiting the effect themselves or by inducing effects via complex reaction cascades. These are e.g. anti-inflammatory, immunostimulating,
complement activation, antithrombotic, antidiabetic and infection protectant. Modern pharmaceutical industry has extensive
research programs where the aim is to obtain information on traditional use of medicinal plants still being in use, and perform
screening of these for the claimed biological activity and follow the isolation of chemical compounds with the relevant activity
tests, but few of the programs focus on polysaccharides. Various plants have been used for treating wounds of different types,
both internally and externally and bioassay guided isolation of active compounds in these plants showed that in many cases,
polysaccharides were responsible for the biological activity. Many of these polysaccharide fractions have been shown to activate
complement. The active compounds studied are often of the pectic type, but acetylated glucomannans and glucans are also among
those having the same kind of effect and certain structure/activity relationships of these polysaccharides is discussed.
A sulfated polysaccharide with anticoagulant properties was isolated from the fermented brown seaweed Sargassum fulvellum. Freeze-dried S. fulvellum was fermented in an incubator for 10th week at 25°C to convert seaweed macromolecules into anticoagulant sulfated polysaccharides (ASP). Anticoagulant activity
was determined by an activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) test using citrated human blood plasma. The 8th week S. fulvellum crude seaweed extract (SWE) exhibited the highest blood anticoagulant activity. Therefore, 8th week crude SWE was used for purification of ASP by two steps; DEAE cellulose anion-exchange followed by Sepharose 4B chromatography.
The isolated ASP showed a single spot on agarose gel electrophoresis, which confirmed the purification status of our ASP.
Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) analysis showed that the molecular mass of the purified ASP was between 8 and 20kDa.
Polysaccharide and sulfate concentrations of the purified ASP were 180 and 29.70μg mL−1 respectively. ASP recovery was 1.32% (w/w) from the crude polysaccharide applied to the DEAE column. Purified ASP had a pH
of 3.86 and was considered an acidic polysaccharide. Moreover, both ASP and heparin showed a relative clotting factor of 27.47
at the concentrations of 180 and 60μg mL−1 respectively. Therefore, S. fulvellum ASP can be considered a weaker anticoagulant than heparin. Results of the APTT, PT, and TT clotting assays showed that ASP
was able to inhibit both intrinsic and extrinsic blood coagulation pathways. Finally, this study established a feasible and
simple experimental protocol to isolate anticoagulant from fermented seaweeds leading to potential further development of
anticoagulant agent for the pharmaceutical industry.
Disorders in blood coagulation can lead to an increased risk of bleeding (hemorrhage) or clotting (thrombosis). These illnesses
have increased over the last decades and no useful new substances have been discovered to remediate them. In search of new
compounds from marine natural resources, macroalgae from the Northwest Mexican Pacific coast were investigated in order to
detect anticoagulant activity. Egregia menziesii, Ulva neumatoidea, Porphyra perforata, Silvetia compressa, and Codium fragile were collected from Ensenada coasts. Collected materials were cleaned, dried, milled, and stored until use. Proximate chemical
composition and sulfate content were determined in dried powder. Hot and cold aqueous extracts were obtained from the dried
algae in order to isolate polysaccharides and similar compounds. Methanol-soluble compounds were separated by means of Soxhlet
extraction. Organic and aqueous extracts were screened for anticoagulant activity in both intrinsic and extrinsic pathways
of clot formation. Clotting activity was studied by standardized plasma coagulation tests (activated partial thromboplastin
time (aPTT) and prothrombin time (PT)). Heparin, a sulfated glycosaminoglycan widely used in anticoagulant therapy, was used
as reference. Effects were defined either as aPTT index (Sample aPTT/Control aPTT ratio) or PT index (Sample PT/Control PT
ratio). Some of the fractions showed anticoagulant activity over intrinsic pathways, whereas they were found to be coagulants
on the extrinsic pathway. The highest aPTT index was 1.8 for U. nematoidea (1μgmL−1). Hot aqueous extracts from E. menziesii (1μgmL−1) showed the highest potency, with an aPTT index of 1.4. Sulfate content and anticoagulant activity were not correlated.
KeywordsMacroalgae–Anticlotting–
Egregia
–Ulva–Codium–Heparin
Published data on the sulfated polysaccharides of various origins that display an anticoagulant activity are summarized and
analyzed. The methods used for producing semisynthetic derivatives are considered. A key role of the polysaccharide structure
in the mechanisms of specific interaction with various blood plasma proteinases is discussed. The effects of the content and
location of sulfate groups in polysaccharides and their molecular weight on the degree of the studied activity are assessed.
Dendryphiella arenaria TM94 is an obligate marine fungus. Fucoidanase expressed by TM94 by solid state fermentation was purified. The fermented
solid medium was extracted with citric acid buffer, and the extracts were precipitated by acetone and separated on Sephadex
G-100 chromatography. The specific fucoidanase activity of purified enzyme was 27-fold than that of the crude enzyme. The
recovery of the enzyme was 17.69%. SDS-PAGE was used to identify the purity and the molecular weight of the fucoidanase. A
single band appeared on SDS-PAGE gel which suggested that relatively pure fucoidanase has been obtained. The molecular weight
of fucoidanase is 180kDa and the isoelectric point was about pH 4.4. The purified fucoidanase appeared to have the maximum
enzymatic activity at pH 6.0. KM and the maximum velocity of the enzyme was 6.56mg·mL−1 and 6.55mg·mL−1·min−1 by using fucoidan from Fucus vesiculosus as substrate. The enzyme may be a type of endo-fucoidanase which could hydrolyze high molecular weight fucoidan to low molecular
weight fucoidan rather than to fucose.
Keywords
Dendryphiella arenaria TM94–Fucoidanase–Purification–Characterization
This review deals with the pharmacology of nonstarch polysaccharides, namely fucoidans and chitosans, isolated from marine
organisms. The work summarizes information from the international literature on the antitumor activities of native polysaccharides
and their derivatives. The structures and physicochemical properties of these polysaccharides are described and the molecular
mechanisms of their antitumor and antimetastatic effects are discussed.
Keywordsfucoidans-chitosans-antitumor drugs
A sulfated polysaccharide purified from a brown alga Ecklonia cava, having high anticoagulant activity was investigated for its antiproliferative effect on murine colon carcinoma (CT-26),
human leukemic monocyte lymphoma (U-937), human promyelocytic leukemia (HL-60), and mouse melanoma (B-16) cell lines. The
sulfated polysaccharide isolated and purified from an enzymatic extract of E. cava had a good selective tumor cell growth inhibition effect; its effect on HL-60 and U-937 was especially promising. The IC50 value for the sulfated polysaccharide from E. cava (ECSP) on U-937 was 43.9μg mL−1. The presence of the sample in the cell culture media stimulated the induction of apoptosis, revealed by nuclear staining
with Hoechst 33342. The apoptosis induction was confirmed by the cell cycle analysis, while pronounced sub-G1 phase arrests
of 9.5% and 13.8% were also clearly observed when the cells were treated at 15 and 30μg mL−1 of ECSP in the U-937 cell line, respectively. After a 24-h incubation period, ECSP dose-dependently enhanced the DNA fragmentation
on the U-937 cell line as observed in the agarose gel electrophoresis assay. To rule out the action mechanism of ECSP for
its anticancer activity, some western blot analyses were conducted with several antibodies (caspase-7, caspase-8, Bax, Bcl-xL,
and PARP) and ECSP had a clear effect on the caspase -7 and 8 which cleave protein substrates, including PARP, an inducer
of apoptosis responsible for DNA cleavage. Moreover, ECSP controlled the cellular transmembrane molecules like Bax and Bcl-xL.
Taken together, the above results demonstrate that the apoptosis for antiproliferative effect of ECSP was clearly induced
on U-937 cells.
In order to develop new anticoagulants as potential heparin alternatives, two pullulans with different molecular weight (MW) were used as starting polymers for the partial synthesis of a structurally new class of sulfated polysaccharides. Sulfation of these linear α-1,4-/1,6-glucans was carried out by a method with a SO3–pyridine complex in DMF, which had been optimized for the modification of β-1,3-glucans. Modifications of this methods resulted in pullulan sulfates with degrees of sulfation (DS) ranging from 0.17 to 1.99 and MW between 15 and 250 kDa. More than 50% of the sulfate groups were bound to the secondary C atoms in positions 2, 3 and 4 of the glucose monomers. The anticoagulant activity of the obtained pullulan sulfates was determined in the coagulation assays prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), Heptest® and thrombin time (TT). They represent potent anticoagulants reaching the efficacy of heparin. Their activity not only improves with increasing DS and MW, but also with increasing part of sulfate groups in positions 2, 3 and 4. In addition, their action profile changes in dependence on their individual structure as reflected by the ratio of the TT- to the APTT-activity. The pullulan sulfates specifically interfere with different stages of the coagulation cascade, and these interactions have different requirements on the chemical structure.
Fucoidan from the sporophyll (Miyeokgui) of cultured Korean brown seaweeds Undaria pinnatifida (Miyeok) is interesting due to its various biological activities. This polysaccharide was isolated from raw material by dilute acid extraction, ballast alginates were removed by CaCl2 precipitation, and crude extract was purified by chromatography on DEAE–cellulose. Structure and composition of the fucoidan was characterised by various methods (organic elemental analysis, HPLC analysis of neutral sugars, FT-IR, FT-Raman, 1H and 13C NMR); molecular size and charge density were estimated by GPC and CITP. The polysaccharide was eluted by GPC as a single peak of approximate molecular weight of 1246 kDa. Miyeokgui fucoidan showed lower electrophoretic mobility (RSH ∼ 0.127) than carrageenans (0.096–0.100) and chondroitin sulphate A (0.103) but higher than alginate (0.170). Isolated polysaccharide contained α-fucose (50.9 mol%) and β-galactose (44.6 mol%) as main neutral sugar units; no uronic acid was observed. Sulphate (0.97 mol mol−1) and acetate (0.24 mol mol−1) esters were also found. Thus the polysaccharide was defined as O-acetylated sulphated galactofucan. The Miyeokgui fucoidan showed antitumour activity against PC-3 (prostate cancer), HeLa (cervical cancer), A549 (alveolar carcinoma), and HepG2 (hepatocellular carcinoma) cells, in a similar pattern to that of commercial fucoidan.
Significant amounts of marine macroalgal (seaweed) polysaccharides are used in food, pharmaceuticals and other products for human consumption. Thus, the global seaweed polysaccharide industry operates in a highly regulated environment. Genetic manipulation of macroalgae to alter composition or growth characteristics may lead to products that do not fall within the current regulations: research that is readily translatable to industrial application is generally restricted to seaweed cultivation and processing and new applications of the approved polysaccharides. There is a great need, however, for research into the genome structure and metabolic pathways of commercially important marine macroalgae. This precompetitive research may not be immediately applicable to the seaweed polysaccharide industry but is critical for sustaining future commercial growth.