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Article history:
Received 18 December 2008
Accepted 20 November 2010
Editor Proof Receive Date 20 December 2010
Keywords:
Enteromorpha
Extract
Total phenol
DPPH
Reducing power
Food algae
a b s t r a c t
Three edible species of green seaweed Enteromorpha (E. compressa, E. linza and E. tubulosa) were studied for
their antioxidant activity. The maximum total phenol content (%) was observed in the extract of acetone
(11.63 0.39), methanol (3.45 0.18) and acetone (6.30 0.06) for E.compressa, E.linza and E.tubulosa
respectively. The excellent DPPH radical scavenging was observed in methanolic extract of E. compressa (IC50
1.89 mg/ml). The acetone extract of E. tubulosa showed good reducing power as compared to the extract of E.
compressa and E. linza at 0.1 mg/ml. Methanol and propanol extracts of E. compressa showed good ferrous ion
chelation activity. The extract of these three seaweeds exhibited high antioxidant activity in linoleic acid
system during the incubation time. The potential of these extracts of Enteromorpha was evident, as it
possessed various antioxidant activities. Hence, these extracts could be used as either natural antioxidants or
ingredients in pharmaceutical industries.
Industrial Relevance: The results showed that different solvent extracts obtained from edible species of
Enteromorpha exhibited good antioxidant activities. Bioactive compounds found in Enteromorpha species
anticipate a major breakthrough for a variety of food/medical applications as they have the potential for
application of such compounds as natural antioxidants in different food/pharmaceutical products.
2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction
]The oxidative damage caused by reactive oxygen species on lipids,
proteins and nucleic acids may trigger various chronic diseases, such as
atherosclerosis, cancer and ageing (Madhavi, Deshpande & Salunkhe,
1996). Epidemiological studies have demonstrated an inverse association between intake of fruits and vegetables and mortality from age
related diseases, such as coronary heart disease and cancer, which may
be attributed to their antioxidant activity (Eberhardt, Lee & Liu, 2000).
On the other hand, some synthetic antioxidants, such as butylated
hydroxyl toluene (BHT) and butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), need to be
replaced with natural antioxidants, as they were found to be toxic and
carcinogenic in animal models (Safer & Al-Nughamish, 1999). Thus, it is
important to identify new sources of safe and inexpensive antioxidants
of natural origin. The development of alternative natural antioxidants
such as those found in plants is of great importance for our health and
holds considerable commercial potential. They may be replaced by
naturally occurring antioxidants (Matsukawa, Dubinsky, Kishimoto,
Masaki, Masuda, Takeuchi, Chihara, Yamamoto, Niki & Karube, 1997).
Seaweeds are rich in polysaccharides, minerals, proteins and
vitamins with a documented antioxidant activity which would elevate
their value in the human diet as food and pharmaceutical supplements (Yan, Nagata & Fan, 1998). Apart from the nutritional qualities,
the seaweeds are now being considered to be a rich source of
antioxidants (Nagai & Yukimoto, 2003). Marine algae (seaweeds) like
other photosynthetic plants are exposed to intense light and high
oxygen concentration leading to the formation of free radicals and
other strong oxidizing agents (Dykens, Shick, Benoit, Buettner &
Winston, 1992; Namaki, 1990). In fact, seaweeds also have protective
enzymes (superoxide dismutase, peroxidase, glutathione reductase,
and catalase) and antioxidative molecules (phlorotannins, ascorbic
acid, tocopherols, carotenoids, phospholipids, chlorophyll related
compounds, bromophenols, catechins, mycosporine-like amino
acids, polysaccharides, etc.), which are similar to those of vascular
plants (Fujimoto, 1990; Le Tutour, Benslimane, Gouleau, Gouygou,
Saadan & Quemeneur, 1998; Ruprez, Ahrazem & Leal, 2002; Yuan,
Bone & Carrington, 2005). Seaweeds also contain phloroglucinol
phenolics (phlorotannins) which are probably good antioxidants (Pavia
& Aberg, 1996). Plant phenolics can behave as reactive oxygen
scavengers, while metal chelators and enzyme modulators prevent
lipid peroxidation (Rodrigo & Bosco, 2006). Polyphenols are reducing
agents, and together with other dietary reducing agents such as vitamin
C, E and carotenoids, referred to as antioxidants, protect the body's
tissues against oxidative stress and associated pathologies such as
cancer, coronary heart disease and inammation (Tapiero, Tew, Nguyen
Ba & Math, 2002). Marine algal extracts have also been demonstrated
to have strong antioxidant properties (Kuda, Tsunekawaa, Goto & Araki,
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K. Ganesan et al. / Innovative Food Science and Emerging Technologies 12 (2011) 7378
2005; Yuan & Walsh, 2006), protective effects against liver injury
caused by carbon tetrachloride (Wong, Ooi & Ang, 2000), and
antiproliferative activity towards HeLa cells (Yuan & Walsh, 2006).
Antioxidative properties of seaweed extracts have been studied in
several geographic regions, but only a few studies have been carried
out on tropical seaweed species (Santoso, Yoshie-Stark & Suzuki,
2004). Three edible seaweeds viz., Padina antillarum, Caulerpa
racemosa and Kappaphycus alvarezii from Southeast Asia were
reported to have high antioxidant activities (Chew, Lim, Omar &
Khoo, 2008; Fayaz, Namitha, Murthy, Mahadeva swamy, Sarada,
Khanam, Subbarao & Ravishankar, 2005; Suresh Kumar, Ganesan &
Subba Rao, 2008).
The present study has evaluated the antioxidant potential of three
species of Enteromorpha viz., E. compressa, E. linza and E. tubulosa by
measuring phenol content, 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH)
radical scavenging activity, reducing power and ferrous ion chelation
activity in various solvent extracts. In order to understand the
antioxidant processes involved, the specic antioxidative activities
of the most active extracts were also characterized, using different
biochemical methods: reducing activity, superoxide anion scavenging
activity and inhibition of lipid peroxidation.
2. Material and methods
2.1. Sample collection
E. compressa, E. linza and E. tubulosa were collected during March
2006 from Port Okha, Gujarat coast (Lat. 22 28.65 N and Long. 69
04.01 E). The collected plants were thoroughly washed with seawater
followed by fresh water to eliminate the adhering materials such as
sand and debris. The samples were then shade dried for a week and
grounded to particle size of less than 1 mm and was stored at room
temperature in airtight plastic bottles.
2.2. Preparation of extracts
The pulverized moisture free sample (20 g) was extracted with
200 ml of individual solvent (ethyl acetate, methanol, propanol,
acetone and water) for 6 h at room temperature using a Soxhlet
extractor. The extraction was repeated many times to obtain a sizable
quantity of extract. Consequently, the extract was concentrated in a
rotary evaporator. The extracts of three species of Enteromorpha viz.,
E. compressa, E. linza and E. tubulosa were used to determine the
antioxidant efcacy. All the experiments were conducted in
triplicates.
K. Ganesan et al. / Innovative Food Science and Emerging Technologies 12 (2011) 7378
75
Table 1
Total phenol content in three edible species of Enteromorpha.
Solvents
Ethyl acetate
Methanol
Propanol
Acetone
Water
E. linza
E. tubulosa
11.44 1.49
7.76 0.10
8.06 0.80
11.63 0.39
2.98 0.39
2.92 0.03
3.45 0.18
3.36 0.10
3.24 0.16
1.33 0.08
1.21 0.05
5.46 0.28
5.76 0.21
6.30 0.06
1.33 0.08
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K. Ganesan et al. / Innovative Food Science and Emerging Technologies 12 (2011) 7378
77
Fig. 3. Ferrous ion chelating activity of the various extracts of Enteromorpha species.
a) E. compressa, b) E. linza and c) E. tubulosa.
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K. Ganesan et al. / Innovative Food Science and Emerging Technologies 12 (2011) 7378