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A single-step and rapid chromatographic method-based purification of Gracilaria corticata (J. Agardh) R-phycoerythrin (R-PE) was attained using polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) technique without affecting structural integrity. The purified R-PE had a characteristic UV–Vis spectrum with three absorbance maxima at 496, 535, and 565 nm, and fluorescence at 575 nm. R-PE was obtained with a purity index of 4.2 and a recovery yield of 44.3%. SDS-PAGE analysis exhibited three sub-units i.e., 18, 21, and 31 kDa, which corresponds to α, β, and γ, respectively. This report's purification process was considered less time-consuming and could be efficiently applied to purify phycobiliproteins. The purified R-PE showed optimal stability up to 6 h at pH 7.0 when exposed to light (3000 lx), while the temperature at which the maximum stability was retained was at 20 °C. The cellular imaging property of R-PE was effectively implemented to evaluate its credentials without affecting the cell proliferation of Vero and Hep-2 cell lines with the higher IC50 concentrations in vitro. Under fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry analysis, purified R-PE displayed the characteristic affinity towards cell imaging functions in preliminary in vitro studies.

Brown seaweed polysaccharides (BSPs) are one of the primary active components from brown seaweed that has a range of pharmaceutical and biomedical applications. However, the quality control of BSPs is a challenge due to their complicated structure and macromolecule. In this study, saccharide mapping based on high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), multi-angle laser light scattering, viscometer, and refractive index detector (HPSEC-MALLS-Vis-RID), and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) were used to discriminate the polysaccharides from nine different species of brown algae (BA1-9). The results showed that BSPs were composed of β-D-glucans and β-1,3−1,4-glucan linkages. The molecular weight, radius of gyration, and intrinsic viscosity of BSPs were ranging from 1.718 × 105 Da to 6.630 × 105 Da, 30.2 nm to 51.5 nm, and 360.99 mL/g to 865.52 mL/g, respectively. Moreover, α values of BSPs were in the range of 0.635 to 0.971, which indicated a rigid rod chain conformation. The antioxidant activities of BSPs exhibited substantial radical scavenging activities against DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) and ABTS (2, 2’-azino-bis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) radicals, which indicated that the use of BSPs might be a potential approach for antioxidant supplements. Thus, this study gives insights about the structure-function relationship of BSPs, which will be beneficial to improve the quality of polysaccharides derived from marine algae.

Cancer is the high leading cause of cancer temporality worldwide. Treatment of cancer has always been a challenge for primary care and the development of appropriate medicine against colon and lung cancers is a major focus for budding researchers in the field. The mushroom lectin has, a few studies explored relating to the biological activity such as antibacterial, antifungal, anticancer activity and others. The mushroom lectin has attained considerable attention recently. The present study was undertaken to evaluate Pleurotus flabellatus lectin (PFL-L) induced cell death on human pathogenic fungal cells. Fungal cell viability was estimated at different intervals, moreover Aspergillus niger has the lowest cell viability (11%) compared to the others. Additionally, PFL-L was examined on human colorectal carcinoma cancer (HT29) cells and lung carcinoma cancer (A549) cells. The apoptotic changes were detected by apoptosis assay on HT29 cells and A549 cells. Further, PFL-L was demonstrated to the HT29 cells were disturbed against the presence of PFL-L at 100 µg/mL and the cell viability range is 25.90 ± 1.52%, whereas the A549 cells range is low. Then, the PFL-L initiates that DNA damage within cancer cells and the effects of cancer-related proteins were examined.

Ulcerative colitis (UC) has become a global chronic disease that keeps increasing. This study was to explore the treatment effectiveness of two functional zwitterionic laminarins, zwitterionic sulfonate (LZS) and zwitterionic carboxylate (LZC), in dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) induced mouse model. FT-IR and NMR techniques were used to characterize the aforementioned functional zwitterion. Compared to UC mice, the composition and diversity of gut microbiota were significantly increased in the treated mice. Specifically, the composition of Bacteroidetes increased and the level of Firmicutes decreased. Moreover, we demonstrated the alleviation of colitis by LZS and LZC reflected by the improved integrity of intestinal mucosa, which includes increased number of goblet cells, mucin protein production, maintenance of collagens, as well as the lower extent of intestinal fibrosis. These findings indicated the potentials of LZC and LZS as promising agents to prevent colitis via adjusting gut microbiota and maintaining intestinal barrier integrity.

Graphene oxide (GO) supported mono (GO/Ru, GO/Ag and GO/Pd) and bimetallic (GO/Ru–Ag and GO/Ru–Pd) nanocomposites (NCs) were prepared via a simple chemical reduction method. The newly designed GO-supported mono and bimetallic NCs were characterized using various techniques, such as Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDAX) and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM). Furthermore, the GO-supported mono and bimetallic NCs were utilized for the reduction of two organic dyes, crystal violet (CV) and malachite green (MG), using NaBH4 in an aqueous medium at 25 °C. The catalytic reaction followed pseudo-first-order reaction kinetics, as monitored using UV-visible spectroscopy. In addition to this, the antibacterial activity of these prepared mono and bimetallic NCs was studied against two Gram (+ve), Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Bacillus subtilis (B. subtilis), and two Gram (−ve) bacteria, Salmonella typhi (S. typhi) and Escherichia coli (E. coli). The bimetallic NCs exhibited excellent catalytic and antibacterial activity as compared to the monometallic NCs.

The microalgal resources have become excellent sources of bioactive and functional compounds for our benefits. Many species are being cultivated for the production of biochemicals pertaining to the fields of therapeutics, cosmetics, nutraceuticals, pharmaceuticals, food and feed, aquaculture, poultry, energy production, and so on. The microalgae possess an array of widely distributed natural pigments belonging to three classes—chlorophylls, carotenoids, and phycobilins—out of which carotenoids consist of large number of pigments. The microalgal pigments are employed as natural colorants in food, feed, cosmetics, confectionary, poultry, and aquaculture, and in fluorescent cell imaging techniques. Apart from this, many possess anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anticancer, anti-angiogenic, anti-obesity, antidiabetic, immune stimulating and neuroprotective bioactivities. All these applications point out vast potential of microalgae for our welfare.

Ten marine species, including different crabs, bivalve molluscs, and fish intestines were selected to screen the natural antimicrobial protein or peptide as they are enriched with various microorganisms. The crude extract from Varuna litterata, a marine crab which is used as a raw material in the preparation of pickled crabs in Chaoshan area of China, was proved to have a potent bacteriostatic effect against gram-negative bacterium (Escherichia coli) and gram-positive bacterium(Staphylococcus aureus) compared with other marine species. The crude proteins of Varunalitterata were salted-out for preliminary purification and further purified by gel filtration (Sephadex G-150) or anion exchange (DEAE-cellulose 52) chromatographic column. An increase in the antimicrobial activity was noted with the increase in the purity level of the protein. A relatively pure protein was eventually obtained, which was determined to be belonging to the hemocyanin family based on the mass spectrometric data analysis. The purified proteins solution (1 mg/ml) from Varuna litterata exhibited similar antimicrobial activity to that of gentamycin sulfate (0.2 mg/ml), which were relatively stable in a certain pH or temperature range. A structure-activity relationship of the purified hemocyanin was determined based on the interaction of hemocyanin and different chromatographic medium, which revealed that the integrated hexamers played a remarkable role in its bacteriostatic activity. Moreover, the phenoloxidase activity of hemocyanin from Varuna litterata was found as the underlying cause of its antimicrobial potential.

Incorporation of coconut kernel fiber to the myofibrillar protein (MP) gel may enhance its properties with better uniqueness. Therefore, this study investigated the effects of coconut fiber on the water state, texture, rheological behavior and microstructural properties of the MP gel system. An increase in gel strength was induced by increasing the concentrations of coconut fiber compared to control (P

Sargassum swartzii, a marine brown algae with wide range of biological properties belongs to the family Sargassaceae. Bioactive fucoidan fractions (CFF, FF1 and FF2) were isolated from S. swartzii and characterized by linear gradient anion-exchange chromatography and FT-IR. The characterized fucoidan fractions contained mainly sugars, sulfate and uronic acid. In the present study, anti-HIV-1 property of the fucoidan fractions was investigated. Fraction FF2 was found to exhibit significant anti-HIV-1 activity at concentrations of 1.56 and 6.25 μg/ml as observed by >50% reduction in HIV-1 p24 antigen levels and reverse transcriptase activity. Fucoidan fractions have no cytotoxic effects on PBMCs at the concentration range of 1.56-1000 μg/ml. These results suggest that fucoidan fractions could have inhibitory activity against HIV and has potential as an anti-HIV-1 agent.

Marine seaweeds contain a valuable source of functional bioactive polysaccharide and it plays main role for effective anticancer activity. The structural feature of SPs was studied through FT-IR and 1H NMR spectra analysis. The isolated SPs from A. spicifera contain 63.3% of total sugar, 21.9% of total sulfate and 12.6% of total uranic acid was found. The active F2 fraction molecular weight of SP was found to be 420 kDa. The sugar was composed of galactose (73.5%), xylose (9.2%), mannose (1.9%) and arabinose (10.9%). Further the SP showed DPPH free radical scavenging activity of 55.55% at 150 μg/mL and reducing power activity of 91.3% at 125 μg/mL. In the present study, the purified sulfated polysaccharide (fraction F2) were extracted, purified and characterized for red seaweed and evaluated for their potential anticancer activity of in A549 cell lines under in vitro condition. These polysaccharide fractions exhibited potential apoptotic effects on A549 cell lines.

The potential of multifunctional wound heal biomaterial relies on the optimal content of therapeutic constituents as well as the desirable physical, chemical, and biological properties to accelerate the healing process. Formulating biomaterials such as amnion or collagen based scaffolds with natural products offer an affordable strategy to develop dressing material with high efficiency in healing wounds. Using image based phenotyping and quantification, we screened natural product derived bioactive compounds for modulators of types I and III collagen production from human foreskin derived fibroblast cells. The identified hit was then formulated with amnion to develop a biomaterial, and its biophysical properties, in vitro and in vivo effects were characterized. In addition, we performed functional profiling analyses by PCR array to understand the effect of individual components of these materials on various genes such as inflammatory mediators including chemokines and cytokines, growth factors, fibroblast stimulating markers for collagen secretion, matrix metalloproteinases, etc., associated with wound healing. FACS based cell cycle analyses were carried out to evaluate the potential of biomaterials for induction of proliferation of fibroblasts. Western blot analyses was done to examine the effect of biomaterial on collagen synthesis by cells and compared to cells grown in the presence of growth factors. This work demonstrated an uncomplicated way of identifying components that synergistically promote healing. Besides, we demonstrated that modulating local wound environment using biomaterials with bioactive compounds could enhance healing. This study finds that the developed biomaterials offer immense scope for healing wounds by means of their skin regenerative features such as anti-inflammatory, fibroblast stimulation for collagen secretion as well as inhibition of enzymes and markers impeding the healing, hydrodynamic properties complemented with other features including non-toxicity, biocompatibility, and safety.

Marine macroalgae consist of a range of bioactive molecules exhibiting different biological activities, and many of these properties are attributed to sulfated polysaccharides, fucoxanthin, phycobiliproteins, and halogenated compounds. In this study, a glycoprotein (GLP) with a molecular mass of ∼48 kDa was extracted and purified from Codium decorticatum and investigated for its cytotoxic properties against human MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells. The IC₅₀ values of GLP against MDA-MB-231 and normal breast HBL-100 cells (control) were 75 ± 0.23 μg/mL (IC₂₅), 55 ± 0.32 μg/mL (IC₅₀), and 30 ± 0.43 μg/mL (IC₇₅) and 90 ± 0.57 μg/mL (IC₂₅), 80 ± 0.48 μg/mL (IC₅₀), and 60 ± 0.26 μg/mL (IC₇₅), respectively. Chromatin condensation and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) cleavage studies showed that the GLP inhibited cell viability by inducing apoptosis in MDA-MB-231 cells. Induction of mitochondria-mediated intrinsic apoptotic pathway by GLP was evidenced by the events of loss of mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨ(m)), bax/bcl-2 dysregulation, cytochrome c release, and activation of caspases 3 and 9. Apoptosis-associated factors such as reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation and loss of ΔΨ(m) were evaluated by DCFH-DA staining and flow cytometry, respectively. Cell cycle arrest of G₂/M phase and expression of apoptosis associated proteins were determined using flow cytometry and Western blotting, respectively.

Decalepis arayalpathra is an endangered and endemic medicinal plant, mainly used for its aromatic and ethno-medical properties. In this study, we reported the biomedical potentials of 2-hydoxy 4-methylbenzaldehyde (2H4MB) from D. arayalpathra. The compound 2H4MB was isolated from fleshy root barks of the plants using steam-hydro distillation extraction method and quantified using HPLC analysis, which yielded 6.5 ± 0.8 μg g−1 of purified compound. Further, the antioxidant and anticancer effects in vitro were studied in detail using MDA-MB-231 cells by cell-based assays. 2H4MB was observed to display the features such as generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), improved cytotoxicity, loss of mitochondrial membrane (Δψm) potential, and nuclear DNA fragmentations, leading to induce cellular apoptosis and cell cycle arrest. Further, the bioavailability of 2H4MB may facilitate its use as a potential cancer therapeutic agent.

The current study is to develop a natural drug carrier with seaweed derived polymers namely κ-Carrageenan (κ-Car) for drug delivery applications. κ-Car is a natural polysaccharide which derived from edible red seaweeds, they are easily available, non-toxic, cost effective, biodegradable and biocompatible nature. Curcumin (Cur) is a yellow-orange polyphenol existing in turmeric, which is predominantly used as spice and food coloring agent. The ultimate use of polymeric composites, especially those composed of natural polymers, has become a very interesting approach in recent drug delivery applications, due to their non-toxicity and biological origin. In this study the primary approach which depends on the loading of Curcumin into κ-Carrageenan was accomplished, and which (κ-Car-Cur) an active drug carrier was developed for drug delivery against selected lung cancer cells (A549). Thus, the κ-Car-Cur was synthesized by solvent evaporation method followed by freeze drying, and it was further characterized. From this study, it has been reported that the high encapsulation efficiency, good stability, and successful release of Cur from the carrier (κ-Car) was achieved. The drug release was more active at acidic pH 5.0 with the cumulative release of 78%, which is the favorable condition present in tumor microenvironments. The in vitro cellular applications studies of κ-Car-Cur demonstrated that, κ-Car-Cur composites induced higher cytotoxicity against selected cancer cells than free Cur and effectively involved to trigger cellular apoptosis in A549 cancer cells. Further, it was also possessed that inhibition of cell growth and changes in metabolic activity of cancer cells are the unique characteristic features of cellular apoptosis, through reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation. It also observed that there was a decrease in mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔψmΔψm) which leads to a cellular apoptosis during treatment with κ-Car-Cur. Hence, the study outcomes may provide the potential outline for the use of κ-Car-Cur as a promising tool to deliver drugs at intracellular level.

Objective To evaluate the antioxidant and anticancer potential of different fractions of bark of Costus pictus using various in vitro antioxidant assay systems. Methods In this study, assay like DPPH radical, superoxide anion radical scavenging activity, nitric oxide scavenging activity, hydrogen peroxide scavenging activity, metal chelating activity and reducing power were used. The concentrations of total phenolic and flavonoids were also calculated for the extracts. Result The present study elucidated for the first time the antioxidant property of bark of C. pictus . This study suggested that, among the three fractions, the chloroform fraction possesses high antioxidant activity which might be helpful in preventing or slowing the progress of various oxidative stress related disorders. Moreover, all fractions possess potent anticancer properties against colon cancer cells of HT29 and lung carcinoma cells of A549. Conclusions It can be concluded that the extract of the bark of C. pictus has potential natural antioxidant and this can be used in food industries. There are few reports on the antioxidant capacity of bark of C. pictus and the mechanism of different fractions of bark of C. pictus as antioxidative agents is still not fully understood. Hence further research is underway to analyse and isolate the active compounds responsible for the antioxidant and anticancer activity of different fractions of the bark of C. pictus .

Essential oils of Cymbopogon citratus were already reported to have wide ranging medical and industrial applications. However, information on polysaccharides from the plant and their anticancer activities are limited. In the present study, polysaccharides from C. citratus were extracted and fractionated by anion exchange and gel filtration chromatography. Two different polysaccharide fractions such as F1 and F2 were obtained, and these fractions were found to have distinct acidic polysaccharides as characterized by their molecular weight and sugar content. NMR spectral analysis revealed the presence of (1?4) linked b-d-Xylofuranose moiety in these polysaccharides. Using these polysaccharide fractions F1 and F2, anti-inflammatory and anticancer activities were evaluated against cancer cells in vitro and the mechanism of action of the polysaccharides in inducing apoptosis in cancer cells via intrinsic pathway was also proposed. Two different reproductive cancer cells such as Siha and LNCap were employed for in vitro studies on cytotoxicity, induction of apoptosis and apoptotic DNA fragmentation, changes in mitochondrial membrane potential, and profiles of gene and protein expression in response to treatment of cells by the polysaccharide fractions. These polysaccharide fractions exhibited potential cytotoxic and apoptotic effects on carcinoma cells, and they induced apoptosis in these cells through the events of up-regulation of caspase 3, down-regulation of bcl-2 family genes followed by cytochrome c release. � 2014 Elsevier Ltd.