Cytotoxic activity of marine macro-algae on Artemia salina (brine shrimp)

• Published in: Phytotherapy research 1999-06, Vol.13 (4), p.304-307
• Main Authors: Ara, J, Sultana, V, Ehteshamul-Haque, S, Qasim, R, Ahmad, V.U
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Algae; Animals; Artemia - drug effects; Artemia salina; Biological and medical sciences; brine shrimp; Caulerpa racemosa; Cell Survival - drug effects; Chlorophycota; cytotoxicity; cytotoxicity, brine shrimp; Eukaryota - chemistry; General pharmacology; macroalgae; Marine; Medical sciences; Phaeophycophyta; Pharmacognosy. Homeopathy. Health food; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Plant Extracts - pharmacology; Rhodophycota; Sargassum binderi; Sargassum swartzii; seaweed; Spatoglossum asperum; Stoechospermum marginatum; Stokeyia indica
• ISSN: 0951-418X; 1099-1573
• DOI: 10.1002/(SICI)1099-1573(199906)13:4<304::AID-PTR439>3.0.CO;2-9

A total of 22 ethanol extracts of seaweed species (13 brown, 6 green and 3 red) collected from the Karachi coast were investigated for brine shrimp cytotoxicity. Of all the species, only six namely Stoechospermum marginatum, Sargassum swartzii, S. binderi, Spatoglossum asperum, Stokeyia indica (brown) and Caulerpa racemosa (green) showed significant activity. n‐Hexane‐soluble fractions of the ethanol extract of S. marginatum and S. swartzii were found to be responsible for the activity, whereas the methanol‐soluble fractions of S. asperum and S. binderi were most active. The water extract of S. indica and C. racemosa exhibited the most prominent activity (LC50 value below 70 µg/mL) when compared with the ethanol extracts and their fractions. Cytotoxic activity may be due to the compounds differing in polarity. Copyright© 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.