Identification of Novel Metabolites along with the Assessment of Metal Toxicity and its Implication in Marine Red Alga <i>Hypnea musciformis</i>

Abstract

Marine algae are known to contain a wide variety of bioactive compounds, biomaterials derived from marine algae have commercial applications in pharmaceutical, medical, cosmetic, nutraceutical, food and agricultural industries. Marine algae are found to contain high amount of nutrients, vitamins (A, B, C, D & E), minerals (Ca, P, Na & K), antioxidants and dietary fibers, that’s why they are used as food, fodder and other commercial purposes throughout the world. Seaweeds have been used as an important source of food because of their biochemical composition. They are also very rich in novel compounds and can be explored for the development of drugs to combat deadly diseases like cancer, diabetes etc. The present study indicates the presence of bioactive compounds by using HPLC and FTIR in marine algae Hypnea musciformis . It includes polysaccharides, terpenes, alkenes, sterols etc. These results indicated that seaweeds H. musciformis could be potential sources of development novel bioactive compounds. Similarly the heavy metals analyzed were found in less concentration and does not have any effects. It was (Cd, Fe, Cu, Ca, Cr, Pb, Ni, Co, Mn, Zn) metals were estimated using atomic absorption spectroscopy. Seaweeds can provide a dietary alternative due to its nutritional value and its commercial value can be enhanced by improving the quality and expanding the range of seaweed-based products. In the future, these marine algae-derived materials/compounds will be used more often in pre-clinical studies for drug discovery.