Antioxidant, Scavenging, Reducing, and Anti-Proliferative Activities of Selected Tropical Brown Seaweeds Confirm the Nutraceutical Potential of Spatoglossum asperum

Abstract

Brown seaweeds have shown high potential of bioactivity and provide health benefits as an important functional food ingredient. Therefore, four abundantly growing tropical brown seaweeds—Iyengaria stellata, Spatoglossum asperum, Sargassum linearifolium, and Stoechospermum polypodioides—were collected from the Saurashtra Coast of the Arabian Sea. They were analyzed for metabolite profiling, biochemical activities (including total antioxidant, reducing, scavenging, and anti-proliferative characteristics), and total phenolic and flavonoid contents. A concentration-dependent antioxidant, reducing, and scavenging activities were observed for all four brown seaweeds. The S. asperum and I. stellata extracts showed maximum total antioxidant activity. S. asperum also showed high scavenging and reducing activities compared to other studied brown seaweeds. Further, S. asperum contained high total phenolic and flavonoid content compared to other brown seaweeds collected from the same coast. A multivariate correlation study confirmed a positive correlation between total phenolic and flavonoid contents, and biochemical activities (total antioxidant, scavenging and reducing) for all brown seaweeds. About 35% anti-proliferative activity was observed with S. asperum extract on Huh7 cells; in contrast S. polypodioide showed about 44% proliferation inhibition of Huh7 cells. Similarly, 26% proliferation inhibition of HeLa cells was observed with S. asperum extract. Overall, S. asperum possesses high total flavonoid and phenolic amounts, and showed potential antioxidant, scavenging and reducing characteristics. The study confirmed the nutraceutical potential of S. asperum and that it could be a promising functional food ingredient.

Differential Physio-Biochemical and Metabolic Responses of Peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) under Multiple Abiotic Stress Conditions

“…The absorbance was set to ~0.70 ± 0.02 by diluting the reaction mixture with water at 734 nm. Different concentrations (100–500 µg mL −1 ) of plant extract were mixed with 1 mL ABTS ions and incubated for 90 min before recording absorbance at 734 nm; the total antioxidant activity was expressed as percentage inhibition [ 81 , 82 ].…”

Nutrient Composition, Physicobiochemical Analyses, Oxidative Stability and Antinutritional Assessment of Abundant Tropical Seaweeds from the Arabian Sea

“…TFC was calculated using a calibration curve for quercetin solution prepared at different concentrations. TFC was expressed as milligrams quercetin equivalent per gram dry weight (mg quercetin g −1 Dw) of seaweed sample [ 26 ].…”

“…Previously, we demonstrated the antioxidant and nutraceutical potential of abundantly available tropical seaweeds from the Saurashtra coast of the Arabian Sea and their application as dietary supplements or functional foods [ 24 , 25 , 26 ]. Among the abundant tropical seaweeds studied, Acrosiphonia spp., Caulerpa spp., Grateloupia spp., Padina spp., Sargassum spp., Spatoglossum spp.…”

Rehashing Our Insight of Seaweeds as a Potential Source of Foods, Nutraceuticals, and Pharmaceuticals

“…In the genus Gracilaria, a few of the phenolic metabolites have been identified, such as salicylic acid, benzoic acid, vanillic acid, gallic acid, p-hydroxybenzoic acid, gentisic acid, protocatechuic acid, and syringic acid [148][149][150]. Key metabolites phlorotannins have been identified in brown seaweeds, which may have potential pharmacological activity [151][152][153]. Polyphenolics provide several potential uses in the nutraceutical, agricultural, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industries.…”