• ALGAE
• /
• v.22 no.1
• /
• pp.17-21
• /
• 2007

Sargassum filicinum Harvey, a brown alga (Phaeophyceae) native to Northeastern Asia, has been recently reported from the coast of Southern California (USA). Here we report the occurrence and range extension of this introduced species, as we found the alga at La Jolla and Rancho Packard in Todos Santos Bay, Baja California, Mexico. The first collections of S. filicinum correspond to several immature plants, found on September 8, 2005, drifting in the intertidal zone at La Jolla. Later on November 9, 2006, we found a well-established population in Rancho Packard in the middle intertidal zone to 2 m depth. Since S. filicinum is an annual monoecious species with air bladders, the risk there is a high risk of spreading rapidly along the Pacific, as in the case for S. muticum. The population in Rancho Packard extends 500 m along the coast, consisting mainly of young plants with an average length of 30 cm and a density of 5 thallus/m2. This is the first record of this invasive species for the Mexican Pacific coast, and it represents the southern limit along the Pacific coast of North America. This finding suggests that this invasive species has successfully colonized the Pacific coast of North America and its distributional range is still expanding.

• BMB Reports
• /
• v.43 no.1
• /
• pp.62-68
• /
• 2010

Matrix Metalloproteinases (MMPs) are a family of zinc-endopeptidases which can degrade extracellular matrix (ECM) components and play important roles in a variety of biological and pathological processes. 6,6'-bieckol isolated and characterized from an edible marine brown alga Ecklonia cava (EC), according to the comprehensive spectral analysis of MS and NMR data. Here the influence of 6,6'-bieckol on expressions of MMPs was examined by zymography and western blot analysis via human fibrosarcoma cell line (HT1080). It is shown that 6,6'-bieckol significantly down regulated the expressions of MMP-2 and -9 in dose-dependent manner. The influence of 6,6'-bieckol on the cell viability and cell behavior of HT1080 cells were also investigated, our dates shown that it suppressed the migration and 3D culture in HT1080 cells. Meanwhile, we explored several signal pathways which may contribute to this process, and found the suppressing of MMPs expressions in HT1080 cells might be due to the suppression of NF-${\kappa}B$ signal pathway.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
• /
• v.36 no.6
• /
• pp.974-978
• /
• 2004

Brown-alga-derived natural agent NX42, mainly composed of algal polysaccharides and phlorotannins, showed mild but dose-dependent inhibition of acetylcholinesterase with $IC_{50}=600-700\;{\mu}g/mL$. Phlorotannin-rich fraction of NX42 showed substantial increase of the activity by more than one order of magnitude ($IC_{50}=54\;{\mu}g/mL$) and significant protection of SK-N-SH cells from oxidative stress by $H_2O_2$. Learning trials of mice for 5 consecutive days revealed electric-shock treatment during learning period significantly retarded learning process, whereas NX42-treated mice showed significant resistance against leaning deficiency possibly mainly due to anticholinesterase and neuroprotective activities of phlorotannin.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
• /
• v.27 no.4
• /
• pp.449-453
• /
• 2004

Effect of pre-treatment with hot water extract of marine brown alga Sargassum polycystum C.Ag. (100 mg/kg body wt, orally for period of 15 days) on HCI-ethanol (150 mM of HCI-etha-not mixture containing 0.15 N HCI in $70\%$ v/v ethanol given orally) induced gastric mucosal injury in rats was examined with respect to lipid peroxides, antioxidant enzyme status, acid/pepsin and glycoproteins in the gastric mucosa. The levels of lipid peroxides of gastric mucosa and volume, acidity of the gastric juice were increased with decreased levels of antioxidant enzymes and glycoproteins were observed in HCI-ethanol induced rats. The rats pre-treated with seaweed extract prior to HCI-ethanol induction reversed the depleted levels of antioxidant enzymes and reduced the elevated levels of lipid peroxides when compared with HCI-ethanol induced rats. The levels of glycoproteins and alterations in the gastric juice were also maintained at near normal levels in rats pre-treated with seaweed extract. The rats given seaweed extract alone did not show any toxicity, which was confirmed by histopathological studies. These results suggest that the seaweed extract contains some anti-ulcer agents, which may maintain the volume/acidity of gastric juice and improve the gastric mucosa antioxidant defense system against HCI-ethanol induced gastric mucosal injury in rats.

• ALGAE
• /
• v.20 no.4
• /
• pp.363-368
• /
• 2005

The brown alga Ascophyllum nodosum and its mutualistic, ascomycete symbiont, Mycophycias ascophylli, form a complex ‘rganism’or symbiotum. Here we show the interaction of the symbiotum to the abundant brown algal epiphyte, Elachista fucicola. Microscopy of field-collected plants shows morphological responses of A. nodosum to the common epiphyte E. fucicola. When E. fucicola attaches to A. nodosum a bundle of several to dozens of rhizoids penetrates into the host. On the surface of the host, the cells proliferate to form a donut-shaped ring, 100-200 μm in height that surrounds the thallus of E. fucicola. A pit forms in advance of the rhizoids and the cells of A. nodosum break down. This leaves the network of fungal hyphae partially intact and intermingling with the epiphyte rhizoids and its lowermost cells. After the pit is formed, the cells of A. nodosum bordering the infection chamber redifferentiate an epidermal layer. Neither the host nor its mutualistic fungus, M. ascophylli appears to recognize E. fucicola as an invader and to prevent the attachment and growth of this epiphyte. Based on the physical damage to the host caused by invading rhizoids, we conclude that the relationship of E. fucicola to A. nodosum is that of a parasite and its host.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
• /
• v.14 no.3
• /
• pp.198-204
• /
• 2011

The brown seaweed Ecklonia cava is known to be a rich source of phlorotannins that have diverse biological activities. Among the phlorotannins in E. cava, concentrations of dieckol and phlorofucofuroeckol-A, which were identified as major active components, were determined in different parts of the tissue. We compared the efficacy of different pretreatments for their extraction. A high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method to determine phlorotannin concentrations showed good accuracy (92.64 and 94.02%, respectively), precision (3.92 and 3.94%, respectively), and linearity (r>0.996). Mature thalli contained 1.5-fold more dieckol (1.82 mg/g-dry tissue) than young thalli. In the tissues of E. cava, blade tissue contained more phlorotannins than the stipe or holdfast. Among differently dried thalli, approximately 90% or more dieckol and phlorofucofuroeckol-A were extracted from shadow-dried tissue as compared with lyophilized tissue. In sun-dried and oven-dried thalli, approximately 60% of the phlorotannins were extracted. Thalli washed with fresh water, boiled thalli, and steamed thalli showed reduced extraction of the compounds.

• ALGAE
• /
• v.27 no.1
• /
• pp.21-32
• /
• 2012

We report an oxidative burst triggered by prostaglandin $A_2(PGA_2)$ in the brown algal kelp Laminaria digitata, constituting the first such discovery in an alga and the second finding of an oxidative burst triggered by a prostaglandin in a living organism. The response is more powerful than the oxidative burst triggered by most other chemical elicitors in Laminaria. Also, it is dose-dependent and cannot be inhibited by diphenylene iodonium, suggesting that another source than NAD(P)H oxidase is operational in the production of reactive oxygen species. Despite the very strong oxidative response, rather few effects at other levels of signal transduction pathways could be identified. $PGA_2$ does not increase lipolysis (free fatty acids) in Laminaria, and only one oxylipin (15-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid; 15-HETE) was found to be upregulated in Laminaria. In a subsequent set of experiments in the genome model Ectocarpus siliculosus, none of 5 selected candidate genes, all established participants in various stress responses, showed any significant differences in their expression profiles.

• ALGAE
• /
• v.18 no.4
• /
• pp.349-354
• /
• 2003

This paper reports that the heavy metal accumulation in marine seaweeds. Algal samples collected from Korean coast were analyzed to determine the concentrations of Cu, Cd, Cr, Zn and Pb. In general, heavy metals were found to be concentrated in many kinds of Korean seaweeds. The concentration levels of accumulated heavy metals in the marine seaweeds was in the following order: Zn > Cu > Cr > Pb > Cd. The concentrations of the heavy metals in the seawater were the highest in Iyajin harbor. Sargassum horneri, a brown alga accumulated high concentrations of Cu (80.66 ${\mu}g{\cdot}g^{-1}$ dw) and Cr (31.54 ${\mu}g{\cdot}g^{-1}$ dw). The high concentrations of heavy metals were accumulated in the brown algae.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
• /
• v.27 no.2
• /
• pp.194-198
• /
• 2004

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) play an important role in the pathogenesis of many human degenerative diseases such as cancer, aging, arteriosclerosis, and rheumatism. Much attention has been focused on the development of safe and effective antioxidants. To discover sources of antioxidative activity in marine algae, extracts from 17 kinds of seaweed were screened for their inhibitory effect on total ROS generation in kidney homogenate using 2',7'-dichlorofluorescein diacetate (DCFH-DA). ROS inhibition was seen in three species: UIva pertusa, Symphyocladia latiuscula, and Ecklonia stolonifera. At a final concentration of 25 $\mu\textrm{g}$/mL, U. pertusa inhibited 85.65$\pm$20.28％ of total ROS generation, S. latiscula caused 50.63$\pm$0.09％ inhibitory, and the Ecklonia species was 44.30$\pm$7.33％ inhibition. E. stolonifera OKAMURA (Lam-inariaceae), which belongs to the brown algae, has been further investigated because it is commonly used as a foodstuff in Korea. Five compounds, phloroglucinol (1), eckstolonol (2), eckol (3), phlorofucofuroeckol A (4), and dieckol (5), isolated from the ethyl acetate soluble fraction of the methanolic extrclct of E. stolonifera inhibited total ROS generation.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
• /
• v.1
• /
• pp.55-61
• /
• 1960

The amino acid compositions of the protein and the nonprotein fractions obtained from a marine brown alga, 'Undaria pinnatifida' were determined by use of Ion Exchange Column Chromatography. The protein nitrogen in the alga was about ten times of the nonprotein nitrogen. Nonprotein fraction obtained from the extraction with 80 percent ethanol contains considerable amount of tree citrulline. Alanine content in the alga was the highest (about 1 per cent in dry weight) and one third of which was found in free state. The amino acid composition of the alga was well balanced and the content of the essential amino acids were relatively higher, than soybean protein. In addition, several peptide like substances were fractionated from nonprotein fraction, in which one way identified as a naturally occurring new tripeptide composed of alanine, glutamic acid and aspartic acid, and the remaining unknown substances are under investigation for the further information.