Innovative Food Science and Emerging Technologies 12 (2011) 7378

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Innovative Food Science and Emerging Technologies

j o u r n a l h o m e p a g e : w w w. e l s ev i e r. c o m / l o c a t e / i f s e t

Comparative assessment of antioxidant activity in three edible species of green

seaweed, Enteromorpha from Okha, Northwest coast of India
K. Ganesan, K. Suresh Kumar, P.V. Subba Rao
Marine Biotechnology and Ecology Discipline, Central Salt and Marine Chemicals Research Institute (CSIR), Bhavnagar 364 002, India

a r t i c l e

i n f o

Article history:
Received 18 December 2008
Accepted 20 November 2010
Editor Proof Receive Date 20 December 2010
Keywords:
Enteromorpha
Extract
Total phenol
DPPH
Reducing power
Food algae

a b s t r a c t
Three edible species of green seaweed Enteromorpha (E. compressa, E. linza and E. tubulosa) were studied for
their antioxidant activity. The maximum total phenol content (%) was observed in the extract of acetone
(11.63 0.39), methanol (3.45 0.18) and acetone (6.30 0.06) for E.compressa, E.linza and E.tubulosa
respectively. The excellent DPPH radical scavenging was observed in methanolic extract of E. compressa (IC50
1.89 mg/ml). The acetone extract of E. tubulosa showed good reducing power as compared to the extract of E.
compressa and E. linza at 0.1 mg/ml. Methanol and propanol extracts of E. compressa showed good ferrous ion
chelation activity. The extract of these three seaweeds exhibited high antioxidant activity in linoleic acid
system during the incubation time. The potential of these extracts of Enteromorpha was evident, as it
possessed various antioxidant activities. Hence, these extracts could be used as either natural antioxidants or
ingredients in pharmaceutical industries.
Industrial Relevance: The results showed that different solvent extracts obtained from edible species of
Enteromorpha exhibited good antioxidant activities. Bioactive compounds found in Enteromorpha species
anticipate a major breakthrough for a variety of food/medical applications as they have the potential for
application of such compounds as natural antioxidants in different food/pharmaceutical products.
2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
]The oxidative damage caused by reactive oxygen species on lipids,
proteins and nucleic acids may trigger various chronic diseases, such as
atherosclerosis, cancer and ageing (Madhavi, Deshpande & Salunkhe,
1996). Epidemiological studies have demonstrated an inverse association between intake of fruits and vegetables and mortality from age
related diseases, such as coronary heart disease and cancer, which may
be attributed to their antioxidant activity (Eberhardt, Lee & Liu, 2000).
On the other hand, some synthetic antioxidants, such as butylated
hydroxyl toluene (BHT) and butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), need to be
replaced with natural antioxidants, as they were found to be toxic and
carcinogenic in animal models (Safer & Al-Nughamish, 1999). Thus, it is
important to identify new sources of safe and inexpensive antioxidants
of natural origin. The development of alternative natural antioxidants
such as those found in plants is of great importance for our health and
holds considerable commercial potential. They may be replaced by
naturally occurring antioxidants (Matsukawa, Dubinsky, Kishimoto,
Masaki, Masuda, Takeuchi, Chihara, Yamamoto, Niki & Karube, 1997).
Seaweeds are rich in polysaccharides, minerals, proteins and
vitamins with a documented antioxidant activity which would elevate

Corresponding author. Tel.: + 91 278 2568694; fax: + 91 278 2566970.

E-mail address: cultivation.pvsrao@gmail.com (P.V.S. Rao).
1466-8564/$ see front matter 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.ifset.2010.11.005

their value in the human diet as food and pharmaceutical supplements (Yan, Nagata & Fan, 1998). Apart from the nutritional qualities,
the seaweeds are now being considered to be a rich source of
antioxidants (Nagai & Yukimoto, 2003). Marine algae (seaweeds) like
other photosynthetic plants are exposed to intense light and high
oxygen concentration leading to the formation of free radicals and
other strong oxidizing agents (Dykens, Shick, Benoit, Buettner &
Winston, 1992; Namaki, 1990). In fact, seaweeds also have protective
enzymes (superoxide dismutase, peroxidase, glutathione reductase,
and catalase) and antioxidative molecules (phlorotannins, ascorbic
acid, tocopherols, carotenoids, phospholipids, chlorophyll related
compounds, bromophenols, catechins, mycosporine-like amino
acids, polysaccharides, etc.), which are similar to those of vascular
plants (Fujimoto, 1990; Le Tutour, Benslimane, Gouleau, Gouygou,
Saadan & Quemeneur, 1998; Ruprez, Ahrazem & Leal, 2002; Yuan,
Bone & Carrington, 2005). Seaweeds also contain phloroglucinol
phenolics (phlorotannins) which are probably good antioxidants (Pavia
& Aberg, 1996). Plant phenolics can behave as reactive oxygen
scavengers, while metal chelators and enzyme modulators prevent
lipid peroxidation (Rodrigo & Bosco, 2006). Polyphenols are reducing
agents, and together with other dietary reducing agents such as vitamin
C, E and carotenoids, referred to as antioxidants, protect the body's
tissues against oxidative stress and associated pathologies such as
cancer, coronary heart disease and inammation (Tapiero, Tew, Nguyen
Ba & Math, 2002). Marine algal extracts have also been demonstrated
to have strong antioxidant properties (Kuda, Tsunekawaa, Goto & Araki,

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K. Ganesan et al. / Innovative Food Science and Emerging Technologies 12 (2011) 7378

2005; Yuan & Walsh, 2006), protective effects against liver injury
caused by carbon tetrachloride (Wong, Ooi & Ang, 2000), and
antiproliferative activity towards HeLa cells (Yuan & Walsh, 2006).
Antioxidative properties of seaweed extracts have been studied in
several geographic regions, but only a few studies have been carried
out on tropical seaweed species (Santoso, Yoshie-Stark & Suzuki,
2004). Three edible seaweeds viz., Padina antillarum, Caulerpa
racemosa and Kappaphycus alvarezii from Southeast Asia were
reported to have high antioxidant activities (Chew, Lim, Omar &
Khoo, 2008; Fayaz, Namitha, Murthy, Mahadeva swamy, Sarada,
Khanam, Subbarao & Ravishankar, 2005; Suresh Kumar, Ganesan &
Subba Rao, 2008).
The present study has evaluated the antioxidant potential of three
species of Enteromorpha viz., E. compressa, E. linza and E. tubulosa by
measuring phenol content, 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH)
radical scavenging activity, reducing power and ferrous ion chelation
activity in various solvent extracts. In order to understand the
antioxidant processes involved, the specic antioxidative activities
of the most active extracts were also characterized, using different
biochemical methods: reducing activity, superoxide anion scavenging
activity and inhibition of lipid peroxidation.
2. Material and methods
2.1. Sample collection
E. compressa, E. linza and E. tubulosa were collected during March
2006 from Port Okha, Gujarat coast (Lat. 22 28.65 N and Long. 69
04.01 E). The collected plants were thoroughly washed with seawater
followed by fresh water to eliminate the adhering materials such as
sand and debris. The samples were then shade dried for a week and
grounded to particle size of less than 1 mm and was stored at room
temperature in airtight plastic bottles.
2.2. Preparation of extracts
The pulverized moisture free sample (20 g) was extracted with
200 ml of individual solvent (ethyl acetate, methanol, propanol,
acetone and water) for 6 h at room temperature using a Soxhlet
extractor. The extraction was repeated many times to obtain a sizable
quantity of extract. Consequently, the extract was concentrated in a
rotary evaporator. The extracts of three species of Enteromorpha viz.,
E. compressa, E. linza and E. tubulosa were used to determine the
antioxidant efcacy. All the experiments were conducted in
triplicates.

of DPPH and calculated using the following equation: Scavenging

effect (%) = 1 A Sample (517 nm) / A Control (517 nm) 100.
2.5. Measurement of reducing power
The reducing power of the prepared extracts was determined
according to the method of Yen & Chen (1995). Briey, each extract
(100 g/ml) was dissolved in 1.0 ml of ethyl acetate, methanol,
propanol, acetone and water to which 2.5 ml of 0.2 M phosphate
buffer (pH 6.6) and 2.5 ml of a 1% (w/v) solution of potassium
ferricyanide were added. The mixture was incubated in a water bath
at 50 C for 20 min. 2.5 ml of a 10% (w/v) trichloroacetic acid solution
was added to the mixture and then centrifuged at 3000 rpm for
10 min. Followed by this, 2.5-ml aliquot of the upper layer was
combined with 2.5 ml of distilled water and 0.5 ml of a 0.1% (w/v)
solution of ferric chloride. Absorbance of the reaction mixture was
read spectrophotometrically at 700 nm.
2.6. Ferrous ion chelating activity
The chelating of ferrous ions by the various solvent extracts was
estimated by the method of Dinis, Madeira & Almeida (1994). Briey
the extract sample (2001000 g/ml) was added to a solution of
2 mmol/l FeCl2 (0.05 ml). The reaction was initiated by the addition of
5 mmol/l ferrozine (0.2 ml) and the mixture was shaken vigorously
and left standing at room temperature for 10 min. Absorbance of the
solution was then measured spectrophotometrically at 562 nm. The
percentage of inhibition of ferrozineFe2+ complex formation was
calculated using the formula, [(A0 A1)/A0] 100, where A0 is the
absorbance of the control and A1 is the absorbance of the extract/
standard. EDTA was used as positive control.
2.7. Superoxide anion scavenging activity
The superoxide anion scavenging activity of the extract was
measured by the method of Nishikimi, Rao & Yagi (1972). One
milliliter of nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT) solution (150 M NBT in
100 mM phosphate buffer, pH 7.4), 1 ml NADH solution (468 M in
100 mM phosphate buffer, pH 7.4) and 0.1 ml of extract (0.1 mg/ml)
were mixed. The reaction started by adding 100 l of phenazine
methosulphate (PMS) solution (60 M PMS in 100 mM phosphate
buffer, pH 7.4) to the mixture. The reaction mixture was incubated at
25 C for 5 min and the absorbance was measured at 560 nm against
blank samples. Decreased absorbance indicated the increased superoxide anion scavenging activity.

2.3. Total phenolic content

Total phenolic content was estimated by FolinCiocalteau method
(Singleton & Rossi, 1965). To 6.0 ml double distilled water, 0.1 ml
sample and 0.5 ml FolinCiocalteau reagent were mixed followed by
the addition of 1.5 ml Na2CO3 (20 g/100 ml water) and the volume
was made up to 10.0 ml with distilled water. After incubation for
30 min at 25 C, the absorbance was measured at 760 nm and the
phenolic content was calculated with a phloroglucinol standard.
2.4. DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) radical scavenging assay
DPPH radical scavenging activity was done according to the
method of Yamaguchi, Takamura, Matoba & Terao (1998). Briey,
1 ml of DPPH solution (0.1 mmol/l, in 95% ethanol (v/v)) was
incubated with different concentrations of the extract. The reaction
mixture was shaken and incubated for 20 min at room temperature
and the absorbance was read at 517 nm against a blank. The radical
scavenging activity was measured as a decrease in the absorbance

2.8. Antioxidant activity by ferric thiocyanate (FTC) method

Antioxidant activity was carried out using the method of Osawa &
Namaki (1983). Samples (4 mg) in ethanol were mixed with 2.5%
linoleic acid in ethanol (4.1 ml), 0.05 M phosphate buffer (pH = 7,
8 ml) and distilled water (3.9 ml) and kept in screw cap containers
under dark condition at 40 C. This solution (0.1 ml) was added to the
solution of 9.7 ml of 75% ethanol and 0.1 ml of 30% ammonium
thiocyanate. After 3 min, 0.1 ml of 0.02 M ferrous chloride in 3.5%
hydrochloric acid was added to the reaction mixture and the
absorbance of red color was measured at 500 nm in the spectrophotometer on alternate days until the 6 days.
2.9. Statistical analysis
All the previous experiments were done in triplicate. The results
are expressed as mean SD (n = 3). SPSS-7.5 version was used.

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75

3. Results and discussion

3.1. Total phenol content
The total phenol content of E.compressa, E.linza and E.tubulosa is
given in the Table 1. The total phenolic content (%) in acetone extract of
E.compressa showed the highest amount (11.63 0.39), followed by
ethyl acetate (11.44 1.49), propanol (8.06 0.80) and methanol
(7.76 0.10). Methanol extract of E.linza was found be highest in total
phenol content (3.45 0.18) among the all extracts studied. In case of
E.tubulosa, the maximum phenol content was noticed in acetone
extract (6.30 0.06), followed by propanol (5.76 0.21), methanol
(5.46 0.28) and ethyl acetate (1.21 0.05). The least total phenol
content was observed in water extract of E.compressa (2.98 0.39)
and E. linza (1.33 0.08), while ethyl acetate extract revealed the least
value in E.tubulosa (1.21 0.05). The methanol and propanol extracts of
three species of Enteromorpha were found to be higher than 100%
methanol extract of Caulerpa recemosa (96.5 4.7 mg GAE/100 g) and
Kappaphycus alvarezii (28.4 1.1 mg GAE/100 g) (Chew et al., 2008).
The variation of total phenol content between the Enteromorpha
species might be due to extrinsic factors (herbivory pressure,
irradiance, depth, salinity, nutrients, etc.) as well as intrinsic ones
(type, age and reproductive stage). The phenol content of Enteromorpha could have been decomposed due to storage and drying.
3.2. DPPH radical scavenging activity
DPPH radical scavenging activity assay has been extensively used for
screening antioxidant activity because it can accommodate many
samples in a short period and is sensitive enough to detect active
ingredients at low concentrations (Sanchez-Moreno, 2002). The
decrease in absorbance of the DPPH radical caused by antioxidant was
due to the scavenging of the radical by hydrogen donation. It is visually
noticeable as a color change from purple to yellow. A lower value of IC50
indicates a higher antioxidant activity. As shown in Fig. 1, the highest
activity was observed in the methanol extract, while propanol, acetone
and ethyl acetate extracts also showed good inhibitory effects. In the
presence of the 3.0 mg/ml test sample, the DPPH radical inhibition of all
the solvent extracts decreased in the following order in all three species
studied: E. compressa methanol N propanol N acetoneN ethyl acetate N
water; E. linza methanol N ethyl acetate N propanol N acetoneN water
and E. tubulosa methanol N acetoneN ethyl acetate N propanol N water.
The linear regression analysis of the scavenging of DPPH (i.e. IC50
values) of methanol extract of E. compressa (1.89 0.04 mg/ml)
showed excellent scavenging activity followed by propanol (2.66
0.06 mg/ml), acetone (2.70 0.06 mg/ml), ethyl acetate (2.85
0.05 mg/ml) and water (3.25 0.09 mg/ml). The extracts of E. linza
showed moderate activity which was in the following order: methanol
(3.66 0.05 mg/ml) N ethyl acetate (3.71 0.06 mg/ml) N propanol
(4.44 0.05 mg/ml) N acetone (4.50 0.11 mg/ml) N water (4.74
0.04 mg/ml). All the extracts of E. tubulosa also showed moderate
activity (IC50) ranging from 2.91 0.05 to 4.61 0.09 mg/ml in the
following order of scavenging activity: methanol N acetone N ethyl
acetate N propanol N water. Among the three extracts the one from

Table 1
Total phenol content in three edible species of Enteromorpha.
Solvents

Ethyl acetate
Methanol
Propanol
Acetone
Water

Total phenol content (%)

E. compressa

E. linza

E. tubulosa

11.44 1.49
7.76 0.10
8.06 0.80
11.63 0.39
2.98 0.39

2.92 0.03
3.45 0.18
3.36 0.10
3.24 0.16
1.33 0.08

1.21 0.05
5.46 0.28
5.76 0.21
6.30 0.06
1.33 0.08

Mean standard deviation of triplicates.

Fig. 1. DPPH radical scavenging activity of various solvent extracts of Enteromorpha. a)

E. compressa, b) E. linza and c) E. tubulosa.

E. compressa showed the best activity followed by E. tubulosa and

E. linza. However the extracts of three species of Enteromorpha showed
better radical scavenging activity than did the extract of Palmaria
palmata (dulse) IC50 12.5 mg/ml (Yuan, Bone, & Carrington 2005),
and puried extract of Ecklonia cava IC50 5.49 mg/ml (c.f. Senevirathne, Kim, Siriwardhana, Ha, Lee & Jeon, 2006). Ragan & Glombitza
(1986) reported the radical scavenging activity of seaweeds to be
mostly related to their phenolic contents. On the other hand,
Siriwardhana, Lee, Kim, Ha & Jeon (2003); Lu & Foo (2000) reported
a high correlation between DPPH radical scavenging activities and total
polyphenolics (r2 = 0.97). In the present study the correlation
coefcient (r2) analysis of DPPH scavenging activity (i.e. IC50 values)
with the total phenol content (phloroglucinol equivalents) gave a value
of 0.38, 0.89 and 0.62 for E. compressa, E. linza and E. tubulosa
respectively. Thus, phenolic compounds may be a major contributor to
the radical scavenging activity of E. linza and E. tubulosa, because they
showed signicant correlation between IC50 values and phenol
contents. But in case of E. compressa, the carotenoids, polyunsaturated
fatty acids and polysaccharides might have contributed to the radical
scavenging activity as this seaweed possesses these said ranges of

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antioxidant compounds. In the three seaweeds studied least activity

was observed in water extracts while the highest one was recorded for
methanol extracts. The maximum radical scavenging activity of
methanol extract was found in E. compressa followed by E. tubulosa
and E. linza. Thus, the methanol extract of Enteromorpha species could
be the better potential source as natural antioxidants.
3.3. Reducing power
The reducing power of a compound may serve as a signicant
indicator of its potential antioxidant activity (Meir, Kanner, Akiri &
Philosoph-Hadas, 1995). In this reducing assay, the presence of
reductants in the solution causes the reduction of the Fe3+/ferricyanide
complex to the ferrous form. Therefore, Fe2+ can be monitored by the
measurement of the absorbance (OD value) at 700 nm (Zou, Lu & Wei,
2004). As shown in Fig. 2, the reducing power of E. compressa extracts
at 100 g/ml concentrations are in the following decreasing order (O.D
value): methanol N acetoneN ethyl acetate N propanolN water. The reducing power of BHT (a positive control) showed highest reducing power. In
case of E.linza, the reducing powers at 100 g/ml of the extracts were in
the following decreasing order: acetone N propanol N methanol N ethyl
acetateN water. The maximum and minimum reducing powers were
noted in acetone extract and water respectively in E.tubulosa. Among
three species tested, the acetone extract of E.tubulosa showed better
reducing power than the other two species. The reducing properties are
generally associated with the presence of reductones (Pin-Der, 1998).
Gordon (1990) reported that the antioxidant action of reductones was
based on the breaking of the free-radical chain by donating a hydrogen
atom. Reductones also react with certain precursors of peroxide, thus
preventing peroxide formation. The data presented here indicates that
the marked antioxidant activity of species of Enteromorpha extracts was
because of their reducing power. The compounds from these seaweeds
may act in a similar fashion as reductones by donating electrons and
reacting with free-radicals to convert them to more stable products and
terminating the free-radical chain reaction.
3.4. Ferrous ion chelation activity
Ferrozine can quantitatively form complexes with Fe2+. In the
presence of samples possessing chelating activity, the formation of
complexes is decreased. Therefore, measurement of the rate of color
reduction helps to estimate the chelating activity of the samples. As
shown in Fig. 3, the methanol extracts of E. compressa showed a better
chelation activity of 49.10 2.06% at a concentration of 1.0 mg/ml,
followed by propanol (43.69 0.78%), acetone (28.15 1.17%), water
(21.76 0.72%) and ethyl acetate (14.55 1.49%). Methanol extract
(35.14 1.35%) of E. linza contributed to higher degree of chelation than
those of the ethyl acetate (31.08 2.70%), acetone (29.73 1.35%),
propanol (28.83 2.06%) and water (23.87 2.81%). No much variation
in chelation activity was observed with methanol (38.29 3.40%),
acetone (38.29 0.78%) and propanol (37.84 2.70%) extracts of E.
tubulosa. The EDTA was used as positive control which showed
58.38 1.43% inhibitions at 1.0 mg/ml concentration. Metal chelating
capacity was signicant since the extract reduced the concentration of
the catalyzing transition metal in lipid peroxidation (Duh, Tu & Yen
(1999)). It was reported that chelating agents, which form bsigmaN
bonds with a metal were effective as secondary antioxidants because
they reduced the redox potential, thereby stabilizing the oxidized form
of the metal ion (Gordon, 1990). Extracts of Enteromorpha species
revealed an effective capacity for iron binding thereby suggesting their
action as an antioxidant.
3.5. Superoxide anion scavenging activity
Superoxide anion is a reduced form of molecular oxygen created
by receiving one electron. Superoxide anion is an initial free radical

Fig. 2. Reducing power of various solvent extracts of three species of Enteromorpha. a) E.

compressa, b) E. linza and c) E. tubulosa.

formed from mitochondrial electron transport systems. Mitochondria

generate energy using 4-electron chain reactions, reducing oxygen to
water. Some of the electrons escaping from the chain reaction of
mitochondria directly react with oxygen and form superoxide anion.
It plays an important role in the formation of other reactive oxygen
species, such as hydrogen peroxide, hydroxyl radical, or singlet
oxygen in living systems (Lee, Koo & Min, 2004). The superoxide
radical activity of various solvent extracts of E. compressa, E. linza and E.
tubulosa was determined by the PMS-NADH superoxide generating
system. All the extracts at 0.1 mg/ml concentration showed scavenging
activity on the superoxide radicals (Fig. 4). However, the highest
scavenging ability was exhibited by ethyl acetate extracts of threes
species studied i.e., E. compressa (25.17 0.61%), E. tubulosa (20.92
1.23%) and E. linza (15.25 1.23%). The activity observed in propanol
extracts of E. compressa (14.380.61%) and E. tubulosa (14.39 0.61%)

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77

Fig. 3. Ferrous ion chelating activity of the various extracts of Enteromorpha species.
a) E. compressa, b) E. linza and c) E. tubulosa.

was the same. BHT (21.551.66%), a synthetic antioxidant showed

scavenging activity next to the one exhibited by the extract of E.
compressa (25.180.61%). However, the superoxide scavenging activity
of ethyl acetate, propanol and acetone extracts of three Enteromorpha
species was higher than synthetic antioxidant -tocopherol (8.53
0.63%).

Fig. 4. Superoxide scavenging activity (%) of extracts of Enteromorpha at 0.1 mg/ml

concentration. a) E. compressa, b) E. linza and c) E. tubulosa.

3.6. Antioxidant activity by ferric thiocyanate (FTC) method

The FTC method was used to measure the peroxide level during the
initial stage of lipid oxidation. Peroxides are formed during the linoleic
acid oxidation, which react with Fe2+ to form Fe3+. The latter ions form
a complex with thiocyanate (SCN) and this complex has a maximum
absorbance at 500 nm. The antioxidant effect of ethanol extract of
Enteromorpha species, in preventing the peroxidation of linoleic acid, as
measured by ferric thiocyanate method, is shown in Fig. 5. Ethanol
extracts of E. compressa exhibited OD value of 0.062 0.001,
0.0520.002, 0.0550.001 and 0.0490.001 respectively during the
incubation period of 0, 2, 4, and 6 days. A decrease in the OD value was
noticed with increase in time period. During the same period OD values of
0.0640.001, 0.0620.001, 0.059 0.001 and 0.056 0.001 were
recorded respectively for E.tubulosa while E.linza recorded respective OD

values of 0.0690.001, 0.0680.001, 0.0620.001 and 0.0590.002.

During this period the control showed OD values of 0.0790.001,
0.0820.001, 0.0860.003 and 0.0950.001 respectively whereas BHT
showed respective OD values of 0.061 0.001, 0.061 0.001,
0.0580.001 and 0.0530.001. The results showed that the extracts
of Enteromorpha species exhibited effective antioxidant activity as
compared to synthetic antioxidant BHT. Low-density lipoprotein (LDL)
peroxidation has been reported to contribute to atherosclerosis
development (Steinbrecher, 1987). Therefore, prevention or delay of
LDL peroxidation is an important function of antioxidants.
Various solvent extracts from Enteromorpha showed varying
degrees of antioxidant activity in different test systems in a dosedependent manner. Methanol, ethyl acetate, propanol and acetone
proved to be the most efcient solvents for extraction of antioxidants

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K. Ganesan et al. / Innovative Food Science and Emerging Technologies 12 (2011) 7378

Fig. 5. Antioxidant activity of extracts of three species of Enteromorpha by ferric

thiocyanate (FTC) method.

from these seaweeds as the relevant extract contained the highest

amount of phenolic compounds and also exhibited the effective
antioxidant activity in all the assays studied. The manifested
antioxidant activity of extracts of Enteromorpha species highlights
their importance as a potential new source of natural additives and
nutritional supplements, especially while considering prevalence of
the inverse relationship between the dietary intake of antioxidantrich foods and incidences of human diseases like cancer and coronary
heart disease. However, the compounds responsible for the antioxidant activity of these algal extracts are yet to be discovered.
Acknowledgements
Authors express their gratitude to Dr. P.K. Ghosh, Director, Central
Salt and Marine Chemicals Research Institute (CSIR), Bhavnagar for his
encouragement and the facilities provided. Senior author K.G is thankful
to the Council of Scientic and Industrial Research (CSIR), New Delhi for
nancial assistance in the form of Senior Research Fellow.
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