Biological importance of marine algae

Abstract

Marine organisms are potentially prolific sources of highly bioactive secondary metabolites that might represent useful leads in the development of new pharmaceutical agents. Algae can be classified into two main groups; first one is the microalgae, which includes blue green algae, dinoflagellates, bacillariophyta (diatoms)… etc., and second one is macroalgae (seaweeds) which includes green, brown and red algae. The microalgae phyla have been recognized to provide chemical and pharmacological novelty and diversity. Moreover, microalgae are considered as the actual producers of some highly bioactive compounds found in marine resources. Red algae are considered as the most important source of many biologically active metabolites in comparison to other algal classes. Seaweeds are used for great number of application by man. The principal use of seaweeds as a source of human food and as a source of gums (phycocollides). Phycocolloides like agar agar, alginic acid and carrageenan are primarily constituents of brown and red algal cell walls and are widely used in industry.

Depressive Effects on the Central Nervous System and Underlying Mechanism of the Enzymatic Extract and Its Phlorotannin-Rich Fraction fromEcklonia cavaEdible Brown Seaweed

“…3,4) The past 3 decades have seen marine plants showing a promising future for the development of new pharmacological agents. 5,6) Numerous novel compounds isolated from marine plants have been demonstrated to possess various pharmacological properties. These compounds include terpenes, polyphenols, carotenoids, polysaccharides, shikimates, polyketides, alkaloids, and peptides.…”

The Marine Macroalgae of the Genus Ulva: Chemistry, Biological Activities and Potential Applications

“…This has also happened to U. fasciata, a derivative of sphingosine (2-amino-4-octadecene-1,3-diol) and N-palmitoyl-2-amino-1,3,4,5-tetrahydroxy-octadecane (8) (Figure 2) were reported from U. fasciata, collected in India [15]. The extract of this alga, collected in AsbuQir, Egypt, was also found to contain three unsaturated fatty acids: 8-hydroxy-9-decenoic acid (9), 3,3-diol-4-decenoic acid (10), and 3-oxo-4-decenoic acid (11) [8] (Figure 2).…”

“…By using gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS), Flodin and Whitfield were able to detect 2,4,6-tribromophenol (1) ( Figure 1) from the crude extract of U. lactuca [13], collected in Turimetta Head, North of Sydney, on the Eastern coast of Australia. Later, 3-O-β-D-glucopyranosylstigmasta-5,25-diene (2) (Figure 1) was isolated from the methanol extract of U. lactuca, collected from the coast of Alexandria, Egypt [12,14,15]. Using High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC), the Chinese group was able to isolate five nor-isoprenoids: (3S,5R,6S,7E) 3,5,6-trihydroxy-7-megastigmen-9-one (3), (3R,5R,6R,7E) 3,5,6-trihydroxy-7-megastigmen-9-one (4), (3S,6R) 3,6-dihydroxy-4,7-megastigmadien-9-one (5), grasshopper ketone (6), and isololiolide (7) (Figure 1), from the methanol extract of U. lactuca, collected off the coast of Bohai in China [16].…”

“…From the dichloromethane extract of U. fasciata Delile, collected in the intertidal zone in Vizhinjam harbor -Kerala at the Southwest coast of India, seven diterpenes: labda-14-ene-8-ol (12), labda-14-ene-3α,8α-diol (13), labda-14-ene-8α-9α-diol (14), labda-14-ene-8α-hydroxy-3-one (15), ent-labda-13 (16)14-diene-3-one (16), ent-labda-13(16), 14-diene (17), and ent-labda-13(16),14-diene-3α-ol (18) (Figure 3) were isolated and purified by column chromatography and Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) [11].…”

“…In the recent years, the importance of marine algae as a supply for new bioactive substances has been growing very rapidly [15,[23][24][25][26][27] owing to their capacity to produce metabolites that exhibit various biological activities such as antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antiproliferative, (2), (3S,5R,6S,7E) 3,5,6-trihydroxy-7-megastigmen-9-one (3), (3R,5R,6R,7E) 3,5,6-trihydroxy-7-megastigmen-9-one (4), (3S,6R) 3,6-dihydroxy-4,7-megastigmadien-9-one (5), grasshopper ketone (6), and isololiolide (7). (12), labda-14-ene-3α,8α-diol (13), labda-14-ene-8α-9α-diol (14), labda-14-ene-8α-hydroxy-3-one (15), ent-labda-13(16)14-diene-3-one (16), ent-labda-13(16),14-diene (17), and ent-labda-13(16),14-diene-3α-ol (18 antiviral [28,29], antifungal [27], antineoplastic [28], anticancer, anti-obesity, antidiabetic, antihypertensive, antihyperlipidemic, and antioxidant [30].…”