Veeraperumal Suresh

Stabilization of mitochondrial and microsomal function of fucoidan from Sargassum plagiophyllum in diethylnitrosamine induced hepatocarcinogenesis

Crude fucoidan from Sargassum plagiophyllum extracted from blade and purified by Q-Sepharose fast flow anion-exchange chromatography and three fucoidan fractions were obtained. Maximum sulphate containing fucoidan fraction was considered as purified fucoidan and purity was checked with agarose gel electrophoresis. The monosaccharides of purified fucoidan analysed by HPLC revealed the presence of the sugars such as fucose as a major sugar were 70.8 mol%. The percentages of other sugars were galactose (13.5%), xylose (2.5%) and mannose (11.2%). GPC was used to analyse molecular weight of purified fucoidan and it was found to be 35 kDa. The levels of ICDH, SDH, MDH, a-KGDH, Phase-I biotransformation enzymes, and Phase-II biotransformation enzymes were decreased in cancer bearing animals which may be due to oxidative stress and mitochondrial damage and fucoidan restored these enzyme activities. The inhibition of carcinogen metabolic activation indicates the anticancer activity of fucoidan in DEN induced liver cancer.

Induction of ROS-Dependent Mitochondria-Mediated Intrinsic Apoptosis in MDA-MB-231 Cells by Glycoprotein from Codium decorticatum

Marine macroalgae consist of a range of bioactive molecules exhibiting different biological activities, and many of these properties are attributed to sulfated polysaccharides, fucoxanthin, phycobiliproteins, and halogenated compounds. In this study, a glycoprotein (GLP) with a molecular mass of ∼48 kDa was extracted and purified from Codium decorticatum and investigated for its cytotoxic properties against human MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells. The IC₅₀ values of GLP against MDA-MB-231 and normal breast HBL-100 cells (control) were 75 ± 0.23 μg/mL (IC₂₅), 55 ± 0.32 μg/mL (IC₅₀), and 30 ± 0.43 μg/mL (IC₇₅) and 90 ± 0.57 μg/mL (IC₂₅), 80 ± 0.48 μg/mL (IC₅₀), and 60 ± 0.26 μg/mL (IC₇₅), respectively. Chromatin condensation and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) cleavage studies showed that the GLP inhibited cell viability by inducing apoptosis in MDA-MB-231 cells. Induction of mitochondria-mediated intrinsic apoptotic pathway by GLP was evidenced by the events of loss of mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨ(m)), bax/bcl-2 dysregulation, cytochrome c release, and activation of caspases 3 and 9. Apoptosis-associated factors such as reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation and loss of ΔΨ(m) were evaluated by DCFH-DA staining and flow cytometry, respectively. Cell cycle arrest of G₂/M phase and expression of apoptosis associated proteins were determined using flow cytometry and Western blotting, respectively.

Further studies and biological activities of macromolecular protein R-Phycoerythrin from Portieria hornemannii.

In the present study, the purified R-Phycoerythrin (R-PE) from a red alga Portieria hornemannii was subjected to the analysis of stability under the influence of different agents. Among the various inhibitors tested on R-PE EDTA at lower concentrations (<1 mM) supported the activity of R-PE. When R-PE was exposed to different organic solvents, ethanol supported the activity at the maximum followed by acetone, ethyl acetate, chloroform and methanol. Citric acid, as a preservative maintained the stability of R-PE both under 0 ± 5 °C and 30 ± 5 °C with 59.34% and 56.23% respectively, on 30th day. Thermal decomposition of the R-PE began near 60 °C. Maximum weight loss was occurred between 150 °C and 500 °C. Complete weight loss was recorded around 875 °C. Thermal denaturation was observed between 19 °C and 40 °C. Moderate to low antioxidant activities were observed in R-PE in relation to total antioxidant activities. After characterization, R-PE was taken for in vitro anticancer studies against selected cancer cell lines. Further studies involving AO/EB fluorescence staining and phase contrast microscope revealed characteristic apoptotic features like cell shrinkage, membrane blebbing, and nuclear DNA fragmentation, etc. Likewise, FACS analysis revealed the cell cycle distribution pattern of A549 and HepG2 cells.

Optimized extraction of polysaccharides from Cymbopogon citratus and its biological activities

In this study the extraction of hot water soluble polysaccharides (HWSPs) from Cymbopogon citratus using hot water decoction was discussed. Response surface methodology (RSM) based on a three level, three variable central composite rotatable design (CCRD), was employed to obtain best possible combination of extraction time (X1: 30-180 min), extraction temperature (X2: 70-100 °C) and water to the raw material ratio (X3: 10-60) for maximum HWSPs extraction. The optimum extraction conditions were as follows: extraction time was around 113.81 min, extraction temperature at 99.66 °C and the ratio of water to raw material was 33.11 g/mL. Under these conditions, the experimental yield was 13.24±0.23%, which is well in close agreement with the value predicted by RSM model yield (13.19%). The basic characterization of HWSPs was determined by using the FTIR. These preliminary in vitro biological studies indicated that lemongrass polysaccharides were useful for anticancer therapy.

Antioxidant and in vitro anticancer effect of 2-pyrrolidinone rich fraction of Brassica oleracea var. capitata through induction of apoptosis in human cancer cells.

The aim of this study was to analyze if the 2‐pyrrolidinone rich fraction of Brassica oleracea var. capitata exhibiting antioxidant and in vitro anticancer activities. 2‐Pyrrolidinone is an active compound present in Brassica oleracea var. capitata. Our findings explored the potential use of 2‐pyrrolidinone in cancer treatment. This compound was identified and isolated by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry and high‐performance liquid chromatography from the leaf of Brassica oleracea var. capitata. The resultant rich active compound exhibited in vitro cytotoxicity in HeLa and PC‐3 human cancer cell lines, and it also exhibited antioxidant activity in cell free assays. DAPI staining, an apoptotic analysis and cell cycle analysis were performed to evaluate the anticancer activity of 2‐pyrrolidinone against the above cell lines. The IC50 value of 2‐pyrrolidinone was determined to be of 2.5 µg/ml for HeLa, 3 µg/ml for PC‐3 cells at 24 h and 1.5 µg/ml for HeLa and 2 µg/ml for PC‐3 cells at 48 h, respectively. However, cell cycle analysis revealed that the anti‐proliferative effects of the 2‐pyrrolidinone were mediated through cell cycle arrest in the G0/G1 phase. These results from the current study suggest that the 2‐pyrrolidinone have potential anticancer effects, which will lead to the development of new anticancer agents for arresting cancer cells growth in vitro. Copyright

In vitro anti-HIV-1 activity of fucoidan from Sargassum swartzii.

Sargassum swartzii, a marine brown algae with wide range of biological properties belongs to the family Sargassaceae. Bioactive fucoidan fractions (CFF, FF1 and FF2) were isolated from S. swartzii and characterized by linear gradient anion-exchange chromatography and FT-IR. The characterized fucoidan fractions contained mainly sugars, sulfate and uronic acid. In the present study, anti-HIV-1 property of the fucoidan fractions was investigated. Fraction FF2 was found to exhibit significant anti-HIV-1 activity at concentrations of 1.56 and 6.25 μg/ml as observed by >50% reduction in HIV-1 p24 antigen levels and reverse transcriptase activity. Fucoidan fractions have no cytotoxic effects on PBMCs at the concentration range of 1.56-1000 μg/ml. These results suggest that fucoidan fractions could have inhibitory activity against HIV and has potential as an anti-HIV-1 agent.

Antioxidant properties of sequential extracts from brown seaweed, Sargassum plagiophyllum, C. Agardh

Objective To study the antioxidant properties of sequential extracts of Sargassum plagiophyllum.