• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.21 no.4
• /
• pp.576-583
• /
• 2011

In the course of study for the development of functional food ingredients from seaweeds having useful biological activities, the in-vitro antioxidant and nitrite scavenging activities of the methanol extracts prepared from 35 different seaweeds (17 phaeophyta, 11 rhodophyta and 7 chlorophyta) were determined. At $500\;{\mu}g/ml$ concentration of the methanol extracts, Ecklonia cava, Ecklonia stolonifera, Eisenia bicyclis (Kjellman) Setchell, Ishige foliacea, I. okamurai, Sargassum confusum, S. fulvellum, S. yamade and Zostera marina showed 60% more DPPH and ABTS scavenging activity. The exceptions were found in I. okamurai and Z. marina, which showed 45% and 53% ABTS scavenging activity, respectively. The correlation coefficient between DPPH and ABTS scavenging activities was 0.855, suggesting that the 9 different seaweeds extracts could scavenge anion and cation radicals concurrently. In reducing power, only E.cava, E.stolonifera and E.bicyclis showed above 0.88 ($Abs_{700}$). In a while, in nitrite scavenging activity at $100\;{\mu}g/ml$ concentration of the methanol extracts, 19 different seaweeds extracts including I. foliacea, I. okamurai, S. confusum, S. fulvellum, and S. yamade showed 60% more activity. Calculation of $IC_{50}s$ of DPPH, ABTS and nitrite scavenging activities of 9 different seaweeds extracts further showed that I. foliacea and S. yamade, besides E.cava, E.stolonifera and E.bicyclis, have strong antioxidant and nitrite scavenging activity. These results suggest that the selected 9 different seaweeds could be developed as functional food ingredients and I. foliacea and S. yamade have potential as novel natural sources of antioxidant and nitrite scavenger.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.20 no.11
• /
• pp.1640-1647
• /
• 2010

Seaweeds have been recognized as a health food, having anti-obesity, anti-constipation and anticoagulation activities, and the use of seaweeds in the food, medicine, and cosmetic industries have recently significantly increased. In this study, methanol extracts were prepared from 35 different seaweeds (17 phaeophyta, 11 rhodophyta and 7 chlorophyta), and thrombin time (TT), prothrombin time (PT) and activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) were determined in order to develop safe and novel anticoagulation agents from natural products. In TT experiments, Ecklonia cava, Ecklonia stolonifera, Eisenia bicyclis (Kjellman) Setchell, Ishige foliacea, I. okamurai, Sargassum confusum and S. yamade showed strong thrombin inhibition activity among the 35 different seaweeds. In PT experiments, the inhibitions of prothrombin were identified in the selected seaweeds from TT experiment, with the exception of S. yamade. In aPTT experiments, the seaweeds with blood coagulation inhibition factors were E. cava, E. stolonifera, E. bicyclis (Kjellman) Setchell, I. foliacea, I. okamurai, S. confusum and Hixikia fusiforme Okamura. Further anticoagulation assay with the selected 8 seaweeds suggested that S. confusum is most effective in antithrombosis, and E. stolonifera, E. bicyclis (Kjellman) Setchell, and I. foliacea have high potential as antithrombosis agents. Based on components-activity correlation analysis, flavonoids are considered as active anticoagulation components of seaweeds These results suggest that edible seaweeds, especially S. confusum, have potential as safe and novel anticoagulants, and S. yamade and H. fusiforme Okamura could be used as a thrombin-specific and coagulation factor-specific inhibitors.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
• /
• v.40 no.2
• /
• pp.144-151
• /
• 2012

In the course of this study aimed at the development of functional food ingredients from seaweeds, the in vitro antimicrobial activities of methanol extracts prepared from 35 different seaweeds (17 phaeophyta, 11 rhodophyta and 7 chlorophyta) were determined against food-borne diseases and pathogenic microorganisms including multi-drug resistant (MDR) Pseudomonas sp. and Candida sp. Based on disc-diffusion assays at 500 g/disc concentration of the methanol extracts, Ishige okamurai, I. foliacea, Sargassum confusum, and S. yamade exhibited strong antibacterial activities in a broad-spectrum, except against Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In addition to the latter four seaweeds, Ecklonia stolonifera, E. cava and Eisenia bicyclis also demonstrated antifungal activity against C. albicans. Among these 8 selected seaweeds, I. okamurai, I. foliacea, and S. yamade exhibited strong hemolytic activity (55-93%) at 500 g/ml against human RBC. Organic solvent sequential fractions using hexane, ethylacetate and butanol, and water residues were prepared from the 8 selected seaweeds and their anti-Candida sp. activities were further determined. The ethylacetate and butanol fraction of I. okamurai, and the hexane fraction of I. foliacea demonstrated antifungal activity against MDR-pathogenic Candida sp. Although the solvent fractions had no activity against MDR-Pseudomonas sp., our results suggest that seaweeds, especially Ishige okamurai, I. foliacea, S. confusum, and S. yamade could be developed as broad-spectrum antimicrobial ingredients.