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BackgroundSulfated Polysaccharides (SPs) possess spectrum of pharmacological and therapeutic properties that could attributed to their origins variation, chemical structures and biological activities. Various studies have shown the impact of SPs on proliferation in different cancer cell lines.ObjectivesIn this study, we have evaluated the biological effects of λ-carrageenan, a highly SP, extracted from the red seaweed Laurencia papillosa, on MDA-MB-231 cancer cell line.Materials and MethodsMDA-MB-231 cells have treated with λ-carrageenan, the viability and apoptosis have assessed by the appropriate florescent probes on flow cytometer. The expression levels of mRNA of apoptotic genes have detected by real-time PCR analysis.ResultsOur results have indicated that the signaling pathway of λ-carrageenan inhibited the proliferation of MDA-MB-231 cells by up-regulating the pro-apoptotic genes caspase-8, caspase-9, caspase-3 which have been resulting the increased levels of active caspase-3 protein. Furthermore, This SP had that capacity to disrupt the mitochondrial function by altering the bax/bcl-2 ratio of expression which has considered an important element in apoptosis induction. ConclusionsThe presented results have signposted that λ-carrageenan was a promising bioactive polymer which could be a potential candidate in preventing or treating breast cancer.