Anti-Cancer Activity of Porphyran and Carrageenan from Red Seaweeds

• Published in: Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) Switzerland), 2019-11, Vol.24 (23), p.4286
• Main Authors: Liu, Zhiwei, Gao, Tianheng, Yang, Ying, Meng, Fanxin, Zhan, Fengping, Jiang, Qichen, Sun, Xian
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Algae; Animal health; Antibodies; Antioxidants; Antitumor activity; Apoptosis; Bioactive compounds; Biodiversity; Cancer; Cancer therapies; Carrageenan; Carrageenan - chemistry; Carrageenan - therapeutic use; Chemopreventive agents; Chemotherapy; Cytotoxicity; Dietary minerals; Humans; Immunity - drug effects; Marine environment; Medical research; Metastasis; Natural products; Neoplasms - drug therapy; Neoplasms - immunology; Polyphenols; Polysaccharides; Polysaccharides - chemistry; Porphyra; Radiation; Review; Saccharides; Seaweed - chemistry; Seaweeds; Sepharose - analogs & derivatives; Sepharose - chemistry; Sepharose - therapeutic use
• ISSN: 1420-3049; 1420-3049
• DOI: 10.3390/molecules24234286

Seaweeds are some of the largest producers of biomass in the marine environment and are rich in bioactive compounds that are often used for human and animal health. Porphyran and carrageenan are natural compounds derived from red seaweeds. The former is a characteristic polysaccharide of , while the latter is well known from , , and various species, all in Rhodophyceae. The two polysaccharides have been found to have anti-cancer activity by improving immunity and targeting key apoptotic molecules and therefore deemed as potential chemotherapeutic or chemopreventive agents. This review attempts to review the current study of anti-cancer activity and the possible mechanisms of porphyran and carrageenan derived from red seaweeds to various cancers, and their cooperative actions with other anti-cancer chemotherapeutic agents is also discussed.