Identification of a Taq DNA polymerase inhibitor from the red seaweed Symphyocladia latiuscula.

Two inhibitors of Taq DNA polymerase were isolated from the marine red alga Symphyocladia latiuscula. The inhibitors were purified by methanol extraction, molecular fractionation below 3000 MW and reverse-phase HPLC. The purified compound SL-1 containing three bromines was identified as 2,3,6-tribromo-4,5-dihydroxybenzyl alcohol (C7H5Br3O3: MW374) by NMR and MS analyses. The purified compound SL-2 was identified as 2,3, 6-tribromo-4,5-dihydroxybenzyl methyl ether(C8H7Br3O3: MW388). In a 25-microl reaction mixture containing 1.5 units of Taq DNA polymerase, the enzyme was completely inhibited by 0.5 microg SL-1 or 5 microg SL-2.

Antioxidant activity of mojabanchromanol, a novel chromene, isolated from brown alga Sargassum siliquastrum.

Silica gel chromatography HPLC, El-Mass, and NMR analyses were performed in order to determine the structure obtained from the separation and refinement of the main components of an ethanol extraction of Sargassum siliquastrum, which indicated its antioxidant activity An ethanol extraction of Sargassum siliquastrum demonstrated the strongest antioxidant activities of ethyl acetate when isolated by silica gel chromatography This amounts to 84.9 +/- 1.2% of its 0.5 mg ml(-1) concentration. The thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) measurements from 3 isolations of an HPLC separation of ethyl acetate showed that the antioxidant activity of peak 2 was the most dominant at 84.08% in a 0.5 mg ml(-1) concentration. Peak 2 was verified as a type of chromene through El-Mass and NMR analysis. Its metal sealing characteristic was low while its characteristic of TBARS and DPPH erasure indicated similar or higher levels of metal sealing characteristic. The NMR spectroscopic data was used to elucidate the structure of this new compound, which showed strong antioxidant activity in the assay.

Anti-inflammatory activities of methanol extracts from various seaweed species.

Thirty-seven species of common seaweeds from the coast of Korea were screened for anti-inflammatory activity Methanol extracts of the seaweeds were tested against mouse ear edema and erythema induced by phorbol myristate acetate. At 40 mg ml(-1) of extract, edema was strongly suppressed by the seaweeds Undaria pinnatifida and Ulva linza, with relative inhibition of 85 and 84%, respectively These two seaweeds also showed the greatest suppression of erythema, with inhibition of 78 and 70%, respectively IC50 values of U. pinnatifida were 10, 15, and 18 mg ml(-1) when inflammation symptoms of edema, erythema, and blood flow, respectively were measured. The IC50 of U. linza was 20, 26, and 31 mg ml(-1) when edema, erythema, and blood flow, respectively, were measured. A linear correlation among inhibition rates of edema, erythema, and blood flow was observed with high confidence.