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Green algae are natural bioresources that have excellent bioactive potential, partly due to sulfated polysaccharides (SPs) which are still rarely explored for their biological activities. There is currently an urgent need for studies exploring the anticancer biological activity of SPs extracted from two Indonesian ulvophyte green algae: the sulfated polysaccharide of Caulerpa racemosa (SPCr) and the sulfated polysaccharide of Caulerpa lentillifera (SPCl). The method of isolating SPs and their assessment of biological activities in this study were based on previous and similar studies. The highest yield sulfate/total sugar ratio was presented by SPCr than that of SPCl. Overall, SPCr exhibits a strong antioxidant activity, as indicated by smaller EC 50 values obtained from a series of antioxidant activity assays compared to the EC 50 values of Trolox (control). As an anti-obesity and antidiabetic, the overall EC 50 value of both SPs was close to the EC 50 of the positive control (orlistat and acarbose). Even more interesting was that SPCl displayed wide-ranging anticancer effects on colorectal, hepatoma, breast cancer cell lines, and leukemia. Finally, this study reveals new insights in that SPs from two Indonesian green algae have the potential to be promising nutraceuticals as novel antioxidative actors, and to be able to fight obesity, diabetes, and even cancer.

Marine algae have excellent bioresource properties with potential nutritional and bioactive therapeutic benefits, but studies regarding Caulerpa lentillifera are limited. This study aims to explore the metabolites profile and the antioxidant, anticancer, anti-obesity, and in vitro cytotoxicity properties of fractionated ethanolic extract of C. lentillifera using two maceration and soxhlet extraction methods. Dried simplicia of C. lentillifera was mashed and extracted in ethanol solvent, concentrated and evaporated, then sequentially partitioned with equal volumes of ethyl acetate and n -Hexane. Six samples were used in this study, consisting of ME (Maceration-Ethanol), MEA (Maceration-Ethyl Acetate), MH (Maceration- n -Hexane), SE (Soxhletation-Ethanol), SEA (Soxhletation-Ethyl Acetate), and SH (Soxhletation- n -Hexane). Non-targeted metabolomic profiling was determined using LC-HRMS, while antioxidant, anti-obesity, and anticancer cytotoxicity were determined using DPPH and ABTS, lipase inhibition, and MTT assay, respectively. This study demonstrates that C. lentillifera has several functional metabolites, antioxidant capacity (EC 50 MH is very close to EC 50 of Trolox), as well as anti-obesity properties (EC 50 MH < EC 50 orlistat, an inhibitor of lipid hydrolyzing enzymes), which are useful as precursors for new therapeutic approaches in improving obesity-related diseases. More interestingly, ME, MH, and SE are novel bioresource agents for anticancer drugs, especially for hepatoma, breast, colorectal, and leukemia cancers. Finally, C. lentillifera can be a nutraceutical with great therapeutic benefits.