Anti-inflammatory, anti-proliferative and anti-oxidant activities of organic extracts from the Mediterranean seaweed, Cystoseira crinita

Abstract

This study was conducted to evaluate the anti-inflammatory, the anti-proliferative, total phenolic content (TPC) and the anti-oxidant activity of the chloroformic (CHCl₃), the ethyl acetate (AcOEt) and the methanolic (MeOH) extracts of Cystoseira crinita. These extracts were assayed on carrageenan induced rat paw oedema assay. They exhibited significant anti-inflammatory activity in a dose dependent manner. The anti-proliferative activity of organic extracts of C. crinita was evaluated on cancer cell lines (A549, MCF7 and HCT15) by the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. CHCl₃ and AcOEt extracts showed important anti-proliferative activity against both HCT15 and MCF7 cell lines. Organic extracts of C. crinita showed important TPC. Moreover, they exhibited significant radical scavenging activity and displayed the highest reducing power. Organic extracts of C. crinita might be used as a significant potential source of natural compounds with anti-inflammatory, anti-proliferative and anti-oxidant activity. It could have a promising role in future medicine.

Key words: Cystoseira crinita, anti-inflammatory, anti-proliferative, 2,2-diphenyl-1- picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activity, total polyphenol content.