Overview of the taxonomy and of the major secondary metabolites and their biological activities related to human health of the Laurencia complex (Ceramiales, Rhodophyta) from Brazil

Abstract

Abstract:In Brazil, the Laurencia complex is represented by twenty taxa: Laurencia s.s. with twelve species, Palisada with four species (including Chondrophycus furcatus now that the proposal of its transference to Palisada is in process), and Osmundea and Yuzurua with two species each. The majority of the Brazilian species of the Laurencia complex have been phylogenetically analyzed by 54 rbcL sequences, including five other Rhodomelacean species as outgroups. The analysis showed that the Laurencia complex is monophyletic with high posterior probability value. The complex was separated into five clades, corresponding to the genera: Chondrophycus, Laurencia, Osmundea, Palisada, and Yuzurua. A bibliographical survey of the terpenoids produced by Brazilian species showed that only six species of Laurencia and five of Palisada (including C. furcatcus) have been submitted to chemical analysis with 48 terpenoids (47 sesquiterpenes and one triterpene) isolated. No diterpenes were found. Of the total, 23 sesquiterpenes belong to the bisabolane class and eighteen to the chamigrene type, whose biochemical precursor is bisabolane, two are derived from lauranes and four are triquinols. Despite the considerable number of known terpenes and their ecological and pharmacological importance, few experimental biological studies have been performed. In this review, only bioactivities related to human health were considered.

New records of red seaweeds to the coast of Ceará State, northeastern Brazil

“…Remarks: our specimens, as described, agree with that studied by Fujii & Sentíes (2005), Cassano (2009), Fujii et al (2011) andCassano et al (2012). The species was originally described by Yoneshigue (1985) from upper subtidal in Arraial do Cabo, Rio de Janeiro, and up to now, it has been considered endemic to the Brazilian coast.…”

Chloroplasts morphology investigation with diverse microscopy approaches and inter-specific variation in Laurencia species (Rhodophyta)

“…Laurencia species have been reported worldwide, occurring from intertidal to subtidal zones up to 65 m in depth and from temperate to tropical shores (Fujii et al 2011).…”

“…Many species from Laurencia complex have no defined taxonomic boundaries and present extensive morphological plasticity, making their taxonomic delimitation difficult (Fujii et al 2011). Morphological characters (Saito 1967, Nam et al 1994, Garbary and Harper 1998, Nam 1999, 2006) and molecular markers (Nam et al 2000, Abe et al 2006, Fujii et al 2006, Díaz-Larrea et al 2007, Gil-Rodríguez et al 2009, Martin-Lescanne et al 2010 have been used for delimiting taxa, but until know no study performed the cellular characterization of CLs in Laurencia species.…”

“…Laurencia species are prolific synthesizers of halogenated terpenes and acetogenins (Fujii et al 2011). These metabolites play important ecological roles, but also many biotechnological applications were described for them, e.g., antifouling paint (Da Gama et al 2003).…”

Comparative analysis of the corps en cerise in several species of Laurencia (Ceramiales, Rhodophyta) from the Atlantic Ocean

“…It was also shown that Br depletion resulted in a reduction in halogenated compounds and an increase in bacterial density over the surface of the algal thallus (Paul et al, 2006). However, the number of CC present per cell within the same species is usually constant (Nam et al, 1994;Furnari et al, 2001;Fujii & Sentíes, 2005;Fujii et al, 2011). Among the Laurencia species reported from Brazil , only L. translucida M.T.…”