The objective of this study was to investigate the useful components and potential antioxidant activities of 30 marine algae, collected from Jeju Island in Korea. The contents of bioacitve substance of extracts from marine algae, such total polyphenol and carbohydrate, were determined. The extract of Distromium decumbens had the highest amount of total polyphenol content (21.27%), and that of Gracilaria incurvata Okamura had the highest amount of total carbohydrate content (10.18%). The antioxidant activities of extracts obtained from algae were tested through the evaluation of DPPH radical and hydroxyl radical scavenging activity. The extracts of Distromium decumbens, Sargassum hemiphyllum (Turner) C.Agardh, Sargassum serratifolium (C. Agardh) C. Agardh and Acrosorium yendoi Yamada were found to have more than 80% DPPH radical scavenging activity and that of Dictyota okamurae (Dawson) Hötning, Schnetter, et Prud'homme van Reine, Myagropsis myagroides (Martens ex Turner) Fensholt, Sargassum serratifolium (C. Agardh) C. Agardh and Cladophora wrightiana Harvey showed more than 50% hydroxyl radical scavenging activity. These results suggest that algae collected from Jeju Island would be good raw materials for antioxidant.

To effectively remove salts from Suaeda japonica, extracts, an electrodialysis system was developed. The biological activities of non-desalted (NDS) and desalted S. japonica (DS) extracts were compared. The DS extract exhibited superior polyphenolic (6.26%) and carbohydrate (28.56%) contents. The IC 50 values of the DS extract against DPPH radicals and hydrogen peroxide were 0.22 and 0.68 mg/mL, respectively, which was higher than that of the NDS extract. Neither the DS nor the NDS extract was cytotoxic in RAW 264.7 macrophages. Additionally, the DS extract had a higher NO inhibitory effect compared to the NDS extract in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-activated RAW 264.7 macrophages. These data indicate that DS extracts have greater biological activity than do ND extracts, and application of the electrodialysis process may be useful in marine bioresource applications.