TITLE:
Anticancer and Antioxidant Activities of Some Algae from Western Libyan Coast
AUTHORS:
Rabia Alghazeer, Nazlin K. Howell, Mahboba B. El-Naili, Nuri Awayn
KEYWORDS:
Polyphenols, Flavonoids, Seaweeds, Antioxidant Activity, Anticancer Activity
JOURNAL NAME:
Natural Science,
Vol.10 No.7,
July
10,
2018
ABSTRACT: Seaweeds are considered as one of the largest biomass
producers in marine environment that is rich in bioactive metabolites and a
source of natural ingredients for functional foods. The potential antioxidant
activity and the potential inhibition of Caco2 cell proliferation, of crude
extracts of: Chlorophyta (Ulva lactuca, and Codium tomentosum),
Phaeophyta (Cystoseira crinita, Cystoseira stricta, and Sargassum vulgare), and
Rhodophyta (Gelidium latifolium, Hypnea musciformis, and Jania rubens) were collected from
western Libyan coast and evaluated in vitro. The antioxidant activity
was determined by reducing power and DPPH assays while cell proliferation,
morphological changes and the cell cycle arrest were assessed by MTT, inverted
light microscope and flow cytometry methods respectively. The polyphenols and
flavonoids rich extracts showed remarkable reducing power and antiradical
properties. After exposure of Caco2 cells to various concentrations of extracts
(50, 100, 150 and 200 μg/mL)
especially from brown algae for 72 h, cell proliferation was reduced
significantly. The antiproliferative effect of algae extracts was correlated
with their polyphenol and flavonoid contents. Cell cycle analysis further
showed that cells were arrested in G phases along with an increment in sub-diploidal cell
population (sub-G) after extract application. These results imply that seaweeds
which are rich in bioactive compounds may be used in anticancer drug research
programs. However, further investigations are essential to reveal the molecular
mechanisms of the anticancer activities of these algae.