title: Antioxidant potential and cytotoxic activity of two red seaweed species, Amansia multifida and Meristiella echinocarpa, from the coast of Northeastern Brazil.
abstract: Natural antioxidants found in marine macroalgae are bioactive compounds known to play an important role in the prevention of diseases associated with aging cells protecting them against the oxidative damage. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the antioxidant and cytotoxic activity of ethanolic extracts of two species of red seaweeds, Amansia multifida and Meristiella echinocarpa. In vitro antioxidant activity was determined by DPPH radical scavenging assay, ferric-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay, ferrous ion chelating (FIC) assay, β-carotene bleaching (BCB) assay and total phenolic content (TPC) quantification. Cytotoxicity was evaluated with the brine shrimp Artemia sp. lethality test. The TPC values observed in the present study indicated that both species A. multifida and M. echinocarpa are rich in phenolic compounds, reaching values of 45.40 and 28.46 mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE) g-1 of ethanolic extract, respectively. DPPH radical scavenging and ferrous ion chelating showed values of 60% and 17%, respectively. Both seaweed extracts inhibited β-carotene oxidation by approximately 40%. None of the algal extracts were potentially cytotoxic. The results have showed that extracts of both species of marine red algae exhibit antioxidant potential and low toxicity. They are sources of natural antioxidant compounds.
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Produtos Naturais Marinhos, Centro de Ciencias Agrarias, Departamento de Engenharia de Pesca, Universidade Federal do Ceara, Fortaleza, CE, Brasil.
authors.forename: Daniel B de
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Alencar
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Biotecnologia Marinha, Centro de Ciencias Agrarias/, Departamento de Engenharia de Pesca, Universidade Federal do Ceara, Fortaleza, CE, Brasil.
authors.forename: Suzete R da
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Produtos Naturais Marinhos, Centro de Ciencias Agrarias, Departamento de Engenharia de Pesca, Universidade Federal do Ceara, Fortaleza, CE, Brasil.
authors.forename: Kelma M S
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Pires-Cavalcante
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Produtos Naturais Marinhos, Centro de Ciencias Agrarias, Departamento de Engenharia de Pesca, Universidade Federal do Ceara, Fortaleza, CE, Brasil.
authors.forename: Rebeca L de
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Lima
authors.affiliation: Centro de Ciencias/CC, Laboratorio de Moleculas Biologicamente Ativas, Departamento de Bioquimica e Biologia Molecular, Universidade Federal do Ceara, Fortaleza, CE, Brasil.
authors.forename: Francisco N
authors.initials: FN
authors.lastname: Pereira Júnior
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Produtos Naturais Marinhos, Centro de Ciencias Agrarias, Departamento de Engenharia de Pesca, Universidade Federal do Ceara, Fortaleza, CE, Brasil.
authors.forename: Márcia B de
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Sousa
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Produtos Naturais, Departamento de Quimica, Faculdade de Ciencias Exatas e Naturais, Universidade do Estado do Rio Grande do Norte, Mossoro, RN, Brasil.
authors.forename: Francisco A
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Viana
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Biotecnologia Marinha, Centro de Ciencias Agrarias/, Departamento de Engenharia de Pesca, Universidade Federal do Ceara, Fortaleza, CE, Brasil.
authors.forename: Celso S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Nagano
authors.affiliation: Centro de Ciencias/CC, Laboratorio de Moleculas Biologicamente Ativas, Departamento de Bioquimica e Biologia Molecular, Universidade Federal do Ceara, Fortaleza, CE, Brasil.
authors.forename: Kyria S do
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Nascimento
authors.affiliation: Centro de Ciencias/CC, Laboratorio de Moleculas Biologicamente Ativas, Departamento de Bioquimica e Biologia Molecular, Universidade Federal do Ceara, Fortaleza, CE, Brasil.
authors.forename: Benildo S
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Cavada
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Biotecnologia Marinha, Centro de Ciencias Agrarias/, Departamento de Engenharia de Pesca, Universidade Federal do Ceara, Fortaleza, CE, Brasil.
authors.forename: Alexandre H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Sampaio
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Produtos Naturais Marinhos, Centro de Ciencias Agrarias, Departamento de Engenharia de Pesca, Universidade Federal do Ceara, Fortaleza, CE, Brasil.
authors.forename: Silvana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Saker-Sampaio
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000633:toxicity; D001156:Artemia / Q000187:drug effects; D001681:Biological Assay; D001938:Brazil; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D012624:Seaweed / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants