Antioxidant activity of extract from a brown alga, Sargassum boveanum

Water and ethanol extracts (WE and EE) from the dried sample of brown alga (Sargassum boveanum) were prepared and examined for its phenolic compounds. Amount of total phenolic compounds in WE was about 17 ± 0.492 mg catechin equivalent (CE)/g of dry sample, using Folin-Ciocalteu method. The antioxidant activity (AOA) of WE was high at about 90% inhibition of peroxidation of linoleic acid with 7 mg dry sample/ml solvent. The IC50 of the WE sample and catechin which was used as the positive control with the hemoglobin catalyzed linoleic acid peroxidation method, were (mg/ml): 3.82 and 0.0713, respectively. The IC50 of the WE sample in terms of CE was 18.76 mg CE/g dry sample.�The WE sample exhibited noticeable scavenging effects in DPPH free radical scavenging assay. The radical scavenging activity (RSA) was about 94% at 3 mg dry sample/ml solvent. The phenolic constituent appears to be responsible at least in part, for the observed AOA of the algal extract. The results suggest that this alga could be a potential source of natural antioxidant

In vitro antitumor activity of Gracilaria corticata (a red alga) against Jurkat and molt-4 human cancer cell lines

Gracilaria corticata is a red alga which can be collected from many sea coasts around the world such as China, India, Persian Gulf, etc. The Persian Gulf is a unique marine habitat infested with diverse seaweeds. The aim of the present study is to explore anticancer potential of the crude extracts from G. corticata which was collected from the Bushehr coast (South west of Iran). Here, different concentration of the aqueous extract from G. corticata was tested for probable antitumoral activity on Jurkat and molt- 4 human lymphoblastic leukemic cell lines. The cells were treated by different concentration of algal extract and the number of viable cells was determined by trypan blue. Also, cytotoxicity of the extract was evaluated by methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) assay. The results showed that 9.336 and 9.726 μg/μl of algal extract were the most effective concentrations against Jurkat and molt-4 cells, respectively. The water crude extract of red alga G. corticata had significant anticancer activity and it might be a good candidate for further investigations in order to develop a natural compound as an anticancer agent which can be used for the production of potential anticancer drug and novel pharmaceutical leads

Antiviral activity of Aloe vera against herpes simplex virus type 2: An in vitro study

In this study we tested the antiviral activity of a crude hot glycerine extract of Aloe vera gel which was grown in Bushehr (Southwest of Iran) against HSV-2 replication in Vero cell line. The extract showed antiviral activity against HSV-2 not only before attachment and entry of virus to the Vero cells but also on post attachment stages of virus replication. The IC50 before attachment and entry of virus to the cells is 428 μg/ml and the CC50 value which is the cytotoxicity of the extract for Vero cells is 3238 μg/ml, while the calculated selectivity index (SI) is 7.56. Also, IC50 of extract on post attachment stages of replication is 536 μg/ml and the SI value for inhibition of the post attachment stages of HSV-2 replication is 6.04. Therefore, compounds of Aloe vera from Bushehr could be a good candidate as a natural source for antiviral drug development against HSV-2