Abstract
Marine algae are known to contain a wide variety of bioactive compounds, many of which have commercial applications in pharmaceutical, medical, cosmetic, nutraceutical, food and agricultural industries. Natural antioxidants, found in many algae, are important bioactive compounds that play an important role against various diseases and ageing processes through protection of cells from oxidative damage. In this respect, relatively little is known about the bioactivity of Hawaiian algae that could be a potential natural source of such antioxidants. The total antioxidant activity of organic extracts of 37 algal samples, comprising of 30 species of Hawaiian algae from 27 different genera was determined. The activity was determined by employing the FRAP (Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power) assays. Of the algae tested, the extract of Turbinaria ornata was found to be the most active. Bioassay-guided fractionation of this extract led to the isolation of a variety of different carotenoids as the active principles. The major bioactive antioxidant compound was identified as the carotenoid fucoxanthin. These results show, for the first time, that numerous Hawaiian algae exhibit significant antioxidant activity, a property that could lead to their application in one of many useful healthcare or related products as well as in chemoprevention of a variety of diseases including cancer.
Highlights
Marine algae produce a diverse array of compounds that function as chemical defense systems facilitating their survival in extremely competitive environments [1]
A one-way analysis of variance comparing the antioxidant activity of the different algal groups revealed that the differences in antioxidant activity of the brown, green, and red algae were statistically significant (P < 0.01)
Post hoc comparisons indicated that the significance in the antioxidant activity of the different algal groups was due to the difference between the brown and red algae (P < 0.001)
Summary
Marine algae produce a diverse array of compounds that function as chemical defense systems facilitating their survival in extremely competitive environments [1]. Research into the natural products chemistry and chemical defenses of algae over the past 40 years has resulted in the isolation of over 15,000 novel compounds, many of which have been shown to have bioactive properties [1,2,3]. Marine algae in shallow water habitats can be exposed to a combination of ultraviolet light and air that readily leads to the formation of free radicals and other reactive oxygen species (ROS). Despite their exposure to harmful ROS, healthy algae lack oxidative damage in their structural components (i.e., fatty acids) and resist oxidation during storage, indicating the presence of protective antioxidant defense systems in their cells [5,6]. The overall aim of this type of research is discovery of compounds and/or extracts that can counteract free radical-induced and other oxidative stress processes, and in so doing decrease the incidence of human diseases directly related to these processes [9]
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