Towards a better understanding of medicinal uses of the brown seaweed Sargassum in Traditional Chinese Medicine: a phytochemical and pharmacological review.

Seaweeds, being prolific sources of bioactive components have garnered unprecedented interest in recent times. The complex polysaccharides from the brown, red and green seaweeds possess broad spectrum therapeutic properties. Especially, the sulfated polysaccharides, viz. fucans, carrageenans and ulvans have exhibited strong antioxidant, antitumor, immunostimulatory, anti-inflammatory, pulmonary fibrosis anticoagulant/antithrombotic, lipid lowering, antiviral, antibacterial, antiprotozoan, hyperplasia prevention, gastrointestinal, regenerative and nano medicine applications. Considering the immense biomedical prospects of sulfated polysaccharides, the profound and emerging functional properties published in recent times will be discussed here with experimental evidences. The limitations of the seaweed-derived sulfated polysaccharides in healthcare will be summarized. Strategies to maximize extraction and bioavailability will be pondered.

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Therapeutic importance of sulfated polysaccharides from seaweeds: updating the recent findings

Diabetes mellitus is a group of chronic metabolic disorders characterized by hyperglycemia due to defects in insulin action and/or secretion. It is a worldwide problem which has led to illness and premature mortality for many people, and the number of diabetes cases has been rising sharply. Unluckily, many conventional antidiabetic agents either show limited efficacy or serious mechanism-based side effects. Marine macroalgae possess tremendous nutritional value and have been well-known to cure and prevent diabetes. An increased interest in various bioactive natural products from marine macroalgae, as a potential source of effective antidiabetic agents, has been observed in recent years. The effects of macroalgae may delay the development of diabetes and alter the metabolic abnormalities through various mechanisms of actions. This review provides an overview of marine macroalgae used to prevent and manage diabetes and explores the hypoglycemic properties of macroalgae-derived bioactive compounds such as polyphenol, bromophenols, sulfated polysaccharides, fucoidan, fucosterol, phlorotannins, carotenoid pigments and fucoxanthin with their probable mechanisms behind hypoglycemic activity.

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Bioactive compounds from marine macroalgae and their hypoglycemic benefits

Sargassum species are tropical and sub-tropical brown macroalgae (seaweed) of shallow marine meadow. These are nutritious and rich source of bioactive compounds such as vitamins, carotenoids, dietary fibers, proteins, and minerals. Also, many biologically active compounds like terpenoids, flavonoids, sterols, sulfated polysaccharides, polyphenols, sargaquinoic acids, sargachromenol, pheophytine were isolated from different Sargassum species. These isolated compounds exhibit diverse biological activities like analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, neuroprotective, anti-microbial, anti-tumor, fibrinolytic, immune-modulatory, anti-coagulant, hepatoprotective, anti-viral activity etc., Hence, Sargassum species have great potential to be used in pharmaceutical and neutralceutical areas. This review paper explores the current knowledge of phytochemical, therapeutic potential, and health benefits of different species of genus Sargassum.

Therapeutic Potential and Health Benefits of Sargassum species

Seaweed nutraceuticals and their therapeutic role in disease prevention

Sargassum hemiphyllum, a kind of brown seaweed generally found along coastlines in East Asia, has long served as a traditional Chinese medicine. S. hemiphyllum has shown an anti-inflammatory effect; however, its mechanism has not been elucidated clearly. This study explored S. hemiphyllum for its biomedical effects. S. hemiphyllum sulfated polysaccharide extract (SHSP) was first prepared; the mouse macrophage cell line (RAW 264.7) activated by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) was used as a model system. The secretion profiles of pro-inflammatory cytokines, including IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α, and NO, were found significantly to be reduced in 1−5 mg/mL dose ranges of SHSP treatments. RT-PCR analysis suggested SHSP inhibits the LPS-induced mRNA expressions of IL-β, iNOS, and COX-2 in a dose-dependent manner. At protein levels, Western blot analysis demonstrated a similar result for NF-κB (p65) in cytosol/nuclear. Taken together, the anti-inflammatory properties of SHSP may be attributed to the down-regulation of NF-κB in ...

Inhibition of Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-Induced Inflammatory Responses by Sargassum hemiphyllum Sulfated Polysaccharide Extract in RAW 264.7 Macrophage Cells

The hot-water extract of seaweed Sargassum hemiphyllum was evaluated antioxidant activity by using four different methods, including DPPH free radicals scavenging activity, Fe(superscript +2) chelating activity, superoxide anion radical scavenging activity and reducing power, and the immune-stimulating activity by using HB4C5 cells and J774.1 cells. It was found that the antioxidant activity was increasing in correlating with the concentration below 3.5 mg/ml. The HB4C5 cells showed the maximum relative activities of cell proliferation (174%) and IgM secretion (132%) at 120 μg/ml of hot-water extract. Overheating slightly reduced the immune-stimulating activity of hot-water extract. At 80 μg/ml, J774.1 cells showed the maximum relative activities of cell proliferation (141%) and phagocytosis (147%). Hence, the hot-water extract of seaweed S. hemiphyllum plays the important role on antioxidant and immune-stimulating activities.

http://jmst.ntou.edu.tw/marine/18-1/41-46.pdf

Antioxidant and Immune-Stimulating Activities of Hot-Water Extract from Seaweed Sargassum Hemiphyllum

Diabetes is one of the most prevalent chronic diseases globally. In this study, major polyphenols (17.35 ± 0.93–36.66 ± 2.01 mg/g) and minor fucoxanthin (non detected 15.12 ± 0.09 mg/g) were isolated from water, ethanol, and acetone extracts (WES, EES, and AES, respectively) of Sargassum hemiphyllum. Inhibition of α-amylase, α-glucosidase, sucrose, and maltase activities and stimulation of insulin secretion was greater with AES than with WES or EES and correlated with polyphenol and fucoxanthin concentrations in extracts. Moreover, 250 μg/ml EES and AES significantly increased insulin secretion in the presence of 25 mg/ml glibenclamide to higher levels than those obtained with 50 mg/ml glibenclamide. None of the extracts exhibited cytotoxicity, exacerbated the side effects of glibenclamide, or inhibited glibenclamide-induced insulin secretion. These results suggested that the S. hemiphyllum extracts WES, EES, and AES could be used as pharmaceuticals and functional foods to reduce dosages of synthetic diabetes drugs.

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Shih-Yung Chien

Papers

Inhibition of Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-Induced Inflammatory Responses by Sargassum hemiphyllum Sulfated Polysaccharide Extract in RAW 264.7 Macrophage Cells

Antioxidant and Immune-Stimulating Activities of Hot-Water Extract from Seaweed Sargassum Hemiphyllum

The brown seaweed Sargassum hemiphyllum exhibits α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibitory activity and enhances insulin release in vitro

Inhibitory activity of Sargassum hemiphyllum sulfated polysaccharide in arachidonic acid-induced animal models of inflammation