Research - Seaweed, Alga
Antinociceptive and Anti-inflammatory Activities of the Lectin from Marine Red Alga Solieria filiformis
Ticiana Monteiro Abreu1, Natássia Albuquerque Ribeiro1, Hellíada Vasconcelos Chaves2, Roberta Jeane Bezerra Jorge3, Mirna Marques Bezerra4, Helena Serra Azul Monteiro3, Ilka Maria Vasconcelos1, Érika Freitas Mota5, Norma Maria Barros Benevides1
Abstract
Lectins are proteins that bind to specific mono- or oligosaccharides. This study aimed to evaluate the antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory effects of the lectin from the red marine alga Solieria filiformis. The animals (n = 6) were pretreated with S. filiformis lectin 30 min before they were given the nociceptive or inflammatory stimulus. The antinociceptive activity was evaluated in Swiss mice using the abdominal writhing, formalin, and hot plate tests. The anti-inflammatory properties were evaluated in Wistar rats using carrageenan-induced peritonitis and paw edema induced by different phlogistic agents. The S. filiformis lectin toxicity was assayed through its application in mice (7 days). S. filiformis lectin significantly reduced the number of abdominal writhings and reduced the paw licking time in the second phase of the formalin test (p < 0.05), but it did not prolong the reaction time in the hot plate test (p > 0.05). Furthermore, S. filiformis lectin reduced neutrophil migration in a peritonitis model and reduced paw edema induced by carrageenan, dextran, and serotonin (p < 0.05). Additionally, the administration of S. filiformis lectin resulted in no signs of systemic damage. Thus, S. filiformis lectin appears to have important antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory activities and could represent a potential therapeutic agent for future studies.
Source : Journal Planta Medica
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Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry Analysis of Ulva fasciata (Green Seaweed) Extract and Evaluation of Its Cytoprotective and Antigenotoxic Effects
Idania Rodeiro,1 Sitlali Olguín,2 Rebeca Santes,2 José A. Herrera,3 Carlos L. Pérez,4 Raisa Mangas,3 Yasnay Hernández,1 Gisselle Fernández,4 Ivones Hernández,1 Sandra Hernández-Ojeda,2 Rafael Camacho-Carranza,2 Ana Valencia-Olvera,2 and Jesús Javier Espinosa-Aguirre2
Abstract
The chemical composition and biological properties of Ulva fasciata aqueous-ethanolic extract were examined. Five components were identified in one fraction prepared from the extract by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, and palmitic acid and its ethyl ester accounted for 76% of the total identified components. Furthermore, we assessed the extract’s antioxidant properties by using the DPPH, ABTS, and lipid peroxidation assays and found that the extract had a moderate scavenging effect. In an experiment involving preexposition and coexposition of the extract (1–500 µg/mL) and benzo[a]pyrene (BP), the extract was found to be nontoxic to C9 cells in culture and to inhibit the cytotoxicity induced by BP. As BP is biotransformed by CYP1A and CYP2B subfamilies, we explored the possible interaction of the extract with these enzymes. The extract (25–50 µg/mL) inhibited CYP1A1 activity in rat liver microsomes. Analysis of the inhibition kinetics revealed a mixed-type inhibitory effect on CYP1A1 supersome. The effects of the extract on BP-induced DNA damage and hepatic CYP activity in mice were also investigated. Micronuclei induction by BP and liver CYP1A1/2 activities significantly decreased in animals treated with the extract. The results suggest that Ulva fasciata aqueous-ethanolic extract inhibits BP bioactivation and it may be a potential chemopreventive agent.
Source : Evidence Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine
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Fucoidans Disrupt Adherence of Helicobacter pylori to AGS Cells In Vitro
Eng-Guan Chua, Phebe Verbrugghe, Timothy T. Perkins, and Chin-Yen Tay
Abstract
Fucoidans are complex sulphated polysaccharides derived from abundant and edible marine algae.Helicobacter pylori is a stomach pathogen that persists in the hostile milieu of the human stomach unless treated with antibiotics. This study aims to provide preliminary data to determine, in vitro, if fucoidans can inhibit the growth of H. pylori and its ability to adhere to gastric epithelial cells (AGS). We analysed the activity of three different fucoidan preparations (Fucus A, Fucus B, and Undaria extracts). Bacterial growth was not arrested or inhibited by the fucoidan preparations supplemented into culture media. All fucoidans, when supplemented into tissue culture media at 1000 µg mL−1, were toxic to AGS cells and reduced the viable cell count significantly. Fucoidan preparations at 100 µg mL−1 were shown to significantly reduce the number of adherent H. pylori. These in vitro findings provide the basis for further studies on the clinical use of sulphated polysaccharides as complementary therapeutic agents.
Source : Evidence Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine
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Antioxidant and cytotoxic activities of three species of tropical seaweeds
Yin Yin Chia1, M S Kanthimathi12*, Kong Soo Khoo3, Jayakumar Rajarajeswaran1, Hwee Ming Cheng4 and Wai Sum Yap5
Abstract
Background
Three species of seaweeds (Padina tetrastromatica, Caulerpa racemosa and Turbinaria ornata) are widely consumed by Asians as nutraceutical food due to their antioxidant properties. Studies have shown that these seaweeds exhibit bioactivities which include antimicrobial, antiviral, anti-hypertensive and anticoagulant activities. However, investigations into the mechanisms of action pertaining to the cytotoxic activity of the seaweeds are limited. The aim of this study was to determine the antioxidant and cytotoxic activities of whole extracts of P. tetrastromatica, C. racemosa and T. ornata, including the cellular events leading to the apoptotic cell death of the extract treated-MCF-7 cells. Bioassay guided fractionation was carried out and the compounds identified.
Methods
Powdered samples were sequentially extracted for 24 h. Their antioxidant activities were assessed by the DPPH radical, superoxide, nitric oxide and hydroxyl radical scavenging assays. The cytotoxic activity of the extract-treated MCF-7cells was assessed using the MTT assay. The most potent fraction was subjected to bioassay guided fractionation with column chromatography. All the fractions were tested for cytotoxic activity, caspase activity and effect on DNA fragmentation.
Results
All three seaweeds showed potent radical scavenging activities in the various assays. The activity of the cellular antioxidant enzymes, superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione reductase, in MCF-7 cells, decreased in a time-dependent manner. The partially purified fractions exhibited higher cytotoxic activity, as assessed by the MTT assay, than the whole extracts in the breast adenocarcinoma cell line, MCF-7. LC-MS analysis revealed the presence of bioactive alkaloids such as camptothecin, lycodine and pesudopelletierine.
Conclusion
Based on the results obtained, all three seaweeds are rich sources of enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants which could contribute to their reported medicinal benefits.
Source : BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine
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Effects of Brown Seaweed (Sargassum polycystum) Extracts on Kidney, Liver, and Pancreas of Type 2 Diabetic Rat Model
Mahsa Motshakeri, 1, Mahdi Ebrahimi, 2 Yong Meng Goh, 2,3, Hemn Hassan Othman, 2, Mohd Hair-Bejo, 2 and Suhaila Mohamed 4
1 Faculty of Food Science & Technology, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
2 Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
3 Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
4 Institute of Bioscience, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
Abstract
The edible seaweed Sargassum polycystum (SP) is traditionally used against several human diseases. This investigation evaluated
the effects of two dietary doses of SP ethanolic and aqueous extracts on the pancreatic, hepatic, and renal morphology of type 2
diabetic rats (T2DM). T2DM was induced by feeding rats on high calorie diet followed by a low dose streptozotocin. Changes in
the diabetic rat organs in SP treated groups with different doses of extracts were compared with normal rats, diabetic control rats,
and metformin treated rats. After 22 days of treatment, the pathological lesions of the livers and kidneys in the diabetic rats were
quantitatively and qualitatively alleviated ( 푃<0.05) by both the SP extracts at 150mg/kg body weight and by metformin. All the
treated diabetic groups revealed marked improvement in the histopathology of the pancreas compared with the control diabetic
group. Oral administration of 300mg/kg body weight of aqueous and ethanolic extracts of SP and metformin revealed pancreas
protective or restorative effects.The seaweed extracts a t150mg/kg body weight reduced the liver and kidney damages in the diabetic rats and may exert tissue repair or restoration of the pancreatic islets in experimentally induced diabetes to produce the beneficial homeostatic effects.
Source : Evidence Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine Journal
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