title: Antioxidant activity of seagrasses of the Mandapam coast, India.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  In the search for new sources of safe and inexpensive antioxidants, the leaves of eight species of seagrasses were screened for antioxidant properties.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Most of the seagrasses were evaluated for the first time for their antioxidant activities.
  
  
  METHODS
  Total phenolic content and in vitro antioxidant activity using, 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrozyl (DPPH) radical scavenging capacity and FRAP assay.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The leaves of Halophila stipulacea (Forssk.) Aschers showed high levels of phenols (1.398 ± 0.055 mg GAE/g) and high reducing power (46.289 ± 1.002) in terms of mg GAE/g. Similarly, H. pinifolia exhibited high total antioxidant activity (132.38, 75.027 mg AscAE/g) and a high percentage of DPPH radical scavenging activity (68.14%). The TAA and FRAP assays showed positive and significantly high correlation (R2 = 0.646). The total phenolic content in the seagrass extracts showed a better correlation with reducing power (R2 = 0.597) than the DPPH radical-scavenging activity (R2 = 0.495).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The antioxidant capacities of the seagrasses showed potential rich sources of natural antioxidants. Further studies are necessary for isolation and characterization of the active antioxidant compounds, which can be used to treat various oxidative stress-related diseases.
authors: Centre of Advanced Study in Marine Biology, Faculty of Marine Sciences, Annamalai, University, Parangipettai, TamilNadu, India.
authors: Ragupathi Raja Kannan
authors: RR
authors: Rengasamy
authors: Arumugam
authors: A
authors: Rajasekaran
authors: Grignon-Dubois
authors: GD
authors: Micheline
authors: Anantharaman
authors: A
authors: Perumal
mesh_terms: D000975:Antioxidants / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001713:Biphenyl Compounds; D016166:Free Radical Scavengers / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology; D031321:Hydrocharitaceae / Q000737:chemistry*; D007194:India; D019684:Magnoliopsida / Q000737:chemistry*; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000187:drug effects; D010851:Picrates; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology*; D012623:Seawater
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; D001713:Biphenyl Compounds; D016166:Free Radical Scavengers; D010851:Picrates; D010936:Plant Extracts; C004931:1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl