In this study, we investigated the antioxidative and antimicrobial activities of red algae Gloiopeltis tenax (GT). GT was extracted with methanol and then further fractionated it into four different types: methanol (GTMM), hexane (GTMH), butanol (GTMB) and aqueous (GTMA) soluble fractions. The antioxidant activity of the fractions from GT was investigated by measuring the scavenging activities of GT against reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS). Among the four fractions of GT, GTMM and GTMB showed a marked scavenging effect against ROS, but they displayed very low levels of the scavenging effect against RNS. The antimicrobial activity was increased in proportion to its concentration by the paper disc method. Among the various solvent layers, the GTMM and GTMB showed strong antimicrobial activities.
Methanol ; Reactive Nitrogen Species ; Reactive Oxygen Species ; Rhodophyta

The radioprotective efficacy of a methanol extract of the red algae Polyopes lancifolia (Harvey) kawaguchi et wang (mPL) was evaluated in mice subjected to total-body gamma irradiation. mPL protection against radiation-induced oxidative stress was examined by histological evaluation of intestinal crypt-cell survival and liver activities of the antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT). mPL (100 mg/kg body weight) administered intraperitoneally at 24 h and 1 h prior to irradiation protected jejunal crypt cells from radiation-induced apoptosis (p < 0.01). The pretreatment of mPL attenuated a radiation-induced decrease in villous height (p < 0.05), and improved jejunal crypt survival (p < 0.05). The dose reduction factor was 1.14 at 3.5 days after irradiation. Treatment with mPL prior to irradiation resulted in significantly higher (p < 0.01) levels of SOD and CAT activities, compared to those levels of irradiated control mice with vehicle treatment. These results suggest that mPL is a useful radioprotective agent capable of defending intestinal progenitor cells against total-body irradiation, at least in part through mPL antioxidative activity.
Animals ; Apoptosis ; Catalase ; Cats ; Liver ; Methanol ; Mice ; Oxidative Stress ; Rhodophyta ; Stem Cells ; Superoxide Dismutase

OBJECTIVETo study the chemical constituents of the red alga Acanthophora spicifera boergesen aiming at searching for bioactive leading compounds.

METHODCompounds were isolated by various chromatographic techniques including column chromatography over normal phase silica gel and Sephadex LH-20 gel and reverse phase HPLC as well as recrystallization. Their structures were determined by spectroscopic methods including IR, MS, 1D and 2D NMR techniques. MTT method was used for testing cytotoxicity of compounds against human cancer cell lines HCT-8, Bel-7402, BGC-823, A549 and HELA. Their inhibition against proliferation of dog vascular smooth muscle cells was also screened by MTT assay.

RESULTSix sterols were isolated from the ethanolic extract of the red alga Acanthophora spicifera. Their structures were identified as 6-hydroxycholest-4-ene-3-one (1), cholest-4-ene-3, 6-dione (2), cholest-5-ene-3 beta-ol (3), 5 alpha-cholestane-3, 6-dione (4), beta-sitosterol (5) and saringosterol (6).

CONCLUSIONCompounds 1-3 and 5 were obtained from this genus for the first time. Compounds 1, 2 and 4 showed moderate cytotoxic activity against human cancer cell lines.

Cell Line, Tumor ; Humans ; Inhibitory Concentration 50 ; Methanol ; chemistry ; Rhodophyta ; chemistry ; Sterols ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology

OBJECTIVETo investigate the chemical constituents of red alga Corallina pilulifera.

METHODCompounds were isolated by normal phase silica gel and Sephadex LH - 20 gel column chromatography, reverse phase HPLC and recrystallization. Their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic methods including MS, 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, HSQC, HMBC. Cytotoxicity of the compounds was screened by using standard MTT method.

RESULTSeven compounds were isolated from red alga C. pilulifera, their structures were identified as (E) -phytol epoxide (1), phytenal (2), phytol (3), dehydrovomifoliol (4), loliolide (5), 3beta-hydroxy-5alpha, 6alpha-epoxy-7-megastigmene-9-one (6), 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde (7).

CONCLUSIONAll of the compounds were obtained from this species for the first time. These compounds were inactive (IC50 > 10 microg x mL(-1)) in the MTT assay.

Benzaldehydes ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Benzofurans ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Cell Line, Tumor ; drug effects ; Humans ; Phytol ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Rhodophyta ; chemistry

OBJECTIVETo study the protein tyrosine phosphatase-1B (PTP1B) inhibitory activity of natural products from algae aiming at searching for new way for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and obesity.

METHODBromophenols derivatives from algae were screened against the PTP1B by the colorimetric assay with GST/PTP1B fusion protein. The Me2SO was distributed as the full enzyme activity, and Na3VO4 (IC50 2 micromol L(-1)) was distributed as the positive control. Inhibition rate was assayed and IC50 were calculated by LOGIT method.

RESULTThree bromophenols from Rhodomela confervoides and Leathesia nana, 3, 4-dibromo-5-(methoxymethyl)-1, 2-benzenediol (1), 2-methyl-3-(2, 3-dibromo4, 5-dihydroxy)-propylaldehyde (2) and 3-(2, 3-dibromo-4, 5-dihydroxy-phenyl)-4-bromo-5, 6-dihydroxy-1, 3-dihydroiso-benzofuran (3) showed significant inhibitory activity against PTP1B. IC50 values were 3.4 +/- micromol L(-1), 4.5 micromol L(-1) and 2.8 micromol L(-1), respectively.

CONCLUSIONThe results prove that three bromophenol derivatives from algae with significant inhibitory activity against PTP1B were potential and effective therapeutic agents for treatment of T2DM and obesity.

Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; Eukaryota ; chemistry ; Phaeophyta ; chemistry ; Phenols ; chemistry ; therapeutic use ; Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase, Non-Receptor Type 1 ; antagonists & inhibitors ; Rhodophyta ; chemistry

OBJECTIVETo study the chemical constitutes of Acantophora spicifera.

METHODCompounds were isolated by normal phase silica gel and Sephadex LH-20 gel column chromatography, and reverse-phase HPLC, as well as recrystallization. Their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic methods.

RESULTSeven compounds were isolated from A. spicifera and their structures were identified as aplysin (1), loloilide (2), (R)-(-)-dehydrovomifoliol (3), uracil (4), thymine (5), 1-methoxy-4-(1-propenyl) benzene (6).

CONCLUSIONThe compounds were obtained from this genus for the first time. Compound 6 was firstly obtained from marine organisms.

Chromatography ; methods ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; methods ; Rhodophyta ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Sesquiterpenes ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Styrenes ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Thymine ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Uracil ; chemistry ; isolation & purification

OBJECTIVETo investigate the antitumor effects of two kinds of bromophenols isolated from marine algae Rhodomela confervoides on three tumor cells of Hela, MGC and BGC-823 and their antitumor mechanism in vitro.

METHODMTT method was employed to assay the inhibitory effects of marine bromphenols with various concentrations. Flow cytometry (FCM) was used to study the cell cycle and aneuploid induction.

RESULTBoth of two bromophenols showed cytotoxic activities on the tested tumor cells. Hela cells were proved to be the most sensitive to the marine bromophenols. Although they couldn't cause apoptosis of the tumor cells, the aneuploid and cell cycle inhibition were detected. For Hela and MGC cells, hypoploid was observed under low drug concentrations, while G1 phase block was caused by higher drug concentrations. For BGC-823 cells, G1 phase inhibition was observed for different drug concentrations, and the inhibitiory effect showed dose-dependent.

CONCLUSIONMarine bromophenol can inhibit the proliferation of three tumor cells, and the mechanism was probably aneuploid induction and cell cycle inhibition.

Antineoplastic Agents ; pharmacology ; Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Cell Cycle ; drug effects ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Humans ; Phenols ; pharmacology ; Rhodophyta ; chemistry

In Korea, the use of herbal remedies is a common cause of drug-induced liver injury. However, the occurrence of both acute pancreatitis and acute hepatitis after taking herbal remedies has rarely been reported. Herein, we report a case of concurrent acute pancreatitis and acute hepatitis associated with Ceramium kondoi ingestion. A 58-year-old woman was diagnosed with advanced gastric cancer 7 months ago. Total gastrectomy and adjuvant chemotherapy was performed without complications. The patient had been well until recently, when she presented with severe abdominal pain after ingestion of Ceramium kondoi for 4 weeks. The laboratory findings demonstrated elevated liver enzymes and lipase, and abdominal computed tomography revealed pancreas swelling with fat infiltration. The diagnosis was made based on the diagnostic criteria for drug induced pancreatitis and the Russel Uclaf Causality Assessment Method scale for drug-induced liver injury. After cessation of Ceramium kondoi, she showed clinical and biochemical improvement.
Abdominal Pain/etiology ; Acute Disease ; Drug-Induced Liver Injury/*diagnosis/enzymology ; Female ; Humans ; Lipase/metabolism ; Liver/*drug effects ; Middle Aged ; Pancreas/*drug effects ; Pancreatitis/*chemically induced/*diagnosis ; Plant Extracts/chemistry/*toxicity ; Rhodophyta/chemistry/metabolism ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Appropriate inflammatory response is necessary for cardiac repairing after acute myocardial infarction (MI). Three-Bromo-4,5-dihydroxybenzaldehyde (BDB) is a potent antioxidant and natural bromophenol compound derived from red algae. Although BDB has been shown to have an anti-inflammatory effect, it remains unclear whether BDB affects cardiac remolding after MI. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential role of BDB on cardiac function recovery after MI in mice. METHODS: Mice were intraperitoneally injected with BDB (100 mg/kg) or vehicle control respectively 1 hour before MI and then treated every other day. Cardiac function was monitored by transthoracic echocardiography at day 7 after MI. The survival of mice was observed for 2 weeks and hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining was used to determine the infarct size. Macrophages infiltration was examined by immunofluorescence staining. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to test the production of cytokines associated with macrophages. The phosphorylation status of nuclear factor (NF)-κB was determined by western blot. RESULTS: BDB administration dramatically improved cardiac function recovery, and decreased mortality and infarcted size after MI. Treatment with BDB reduced CD68+ macrophages, M1 and M2 macrophages infiltration post-MI, and suppressed the secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-1β, monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP)-1, and IL-6 in the injured hearts. Furthermore, BDB inhibited the phosphorylation of NF-κB in the infarcted hearts. CONCLUSIONS: These data demonstrate, for the first time, that BDB treatment facilitated cardiac healing by suppressing pro-inflammatory cytokine secretion, and indicate that BDB may serve as a therapeutic agent for acute MI.
Animals ; Blotting, Western ; Cytokines ; Echocardiography ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Eosine Yellowish-(YS) ; Fluorescent Antibody Technique ; Heart ; Hematoxylin ; Interleukin-6 ; Interleukins ; Macrophages ; Mice ; Monocytes ; Mortality ; Myocardial Infarction ; Phosphorylation ; Recovery of Function ; Rhodophyta ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha

OBJECTIVETo investigate the chemical constituents of the red alga Gymnogongrus flabelliformis Harv.

METHODCompounds were isolated by normal phase silica gel and Sephadex LH - 20 gel column chromatography and reverse phase HPLC. Their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic methods including MS, 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR. Cytotoxicity of the compounds was screened by using standard MIT method.

RESULTFive compounds were isolated from G. flabelliforrmis, their structures were identified as(3S, 6R, 7E)-( + )-3-hydroxyl-4, 7-mega-stigmadien-9-one (1), (3S, 5R, 6S, 7E)-(-)-3-hydroxy-5, 6-epoxy-7-megastigmene-9-one (2), (3S, 5S, 6R, 7E)-(+)3-hydroxy-5, 6-epoxy-7-megastigmene-9-one (3), dehydrovomifoliol (4), (3R)-(-)4-[(2R, 4S)-4-acetoxy-2-hydroxy-2, 6, 6-trimethylcyclohexylidene] -3-buten-2-one (5).

CONCLUSIONAll of the compounds were obtained from this species for the first time and compound 1 was a new natural product. These compounds were inactive (IC50 > 10 microg x mL(-1)) in the MTT assay against several human cancer cell lines.

Antineoplastic Agents ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Butanols ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Survival ; drug effects ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Cyclohexanones ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Humans ; Inhibitory Concentration 50 ; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy ; Norisoprenoids ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Rhodophyta ; chemistry