Chapter 5 - Antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anticancer potential of natural bioactive compounds from seaweeds

Abstract

Abstract The term cancer refers to a group of diseases which results in altered expression of cellular growth controls thus leading to uncontrolled proliferation of cells, metastasis and death of patients. It is still being considered as the second leading cause of death worldwide, next to the cardiovascular diseases. The cancer cells develop acquired and intrinsic resistance against chemotherapeutic agents which is the reason for the progressive increase in global cancer burden each year. Hence the search for potent anticancer agents still continues, and drugs from natural origin offer a new hope for anticancer drug discovery. Until now, several bioactive compounds from terrestrial plants have been reported to have various bioactive potential against different types of cancers. Phytochemicals derived from natural products are reported as new generation of anticancer agents, which may reduce the risk of malignancy with limited toxicity to the patients. In this series, we discuss the potential role of marine natural products in the development of potent anticancer agents. More than 1000 of novel bioactive metabolites have been reported from marine organisms with potent cytotoxicity against various tumors. Marine macroalgae or the seaweeds contain various bioactive secondary metabolites with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anticancer activities. The most promising anticancer agent isolated from brown algae is a sulfated polysaccharide Fucoidan which is reported to have potent anticancer activity against various types of cancer. However, the anticancer agents from several other seaweeds are yet to be explored. This review focuses on the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory potential of various seaweeds and their biological activities against cancer cells, thus, delineating on the natural product based alternative approach which could be developed as potent anticancer agents.