Antinociceptive activity of sulfated carbohydrates from the red algae Bryothamnion seaforthii (Turner) Kütz. and B. triquetrum (S.G. Gmel.) M. Howe

Abstract

We report the antinociceptive activity, determined by the writhing, formalin and hot-plate tests in mice, of crude (F0/60), lectin and carbohydrate fractions isolated by ammonium sulfate precipitation (0 to 60%) from Bryothamnion seaforthii and B. triquetrum, species of red algae. Not only fraction F0/60 but also lectins from both species significantly inhibited acetic acid-induced abdominal contractions after intraperitoneal or oral administrations. In the formalin test, lectins (1 and 5 mg/kg, ip, and 5 to 20 mg/kg, po) inhibited the 1st and 2nd phases (5 and 20 min, respectively), but the effect occurred predominantly on the 2nd phase. The effects of the lectins were totally or partially reversed by naloxone (2 mg/kg, sc) in the 1st and 2nd phases, respectively. Experiments performed with lectins in the absence and presence of avidin (1 mg/kg, ip) and D-mannose (1 mg/kg, ip) showed that avidin did not interfere with the effect of B. seaforthii lectin but partially reversed the effect of B. triquetrum lectin. DMannose completely reversed the effects of both species. F0/60 fractions from both algae significantly increased the latency time in response to thermal stimuli, and naloxone reversed antinociception, indicating the involvement of the opioid system in both the peripheral and central effects of the fractions. In the writhing test, the carbohydrate fractions were the most active, inhibiting the contractions by 71 and 79% (B. triquetrum) and by 46 and 69% (B. seaforthii) at doses of 1 and 5 mg/kg, ip, respectively. Sulfated carbohydrate fractions of B. seaforthii and B. triquetrum, containing only about 5% protein as contaminants, are probably responsible for the antinociceptive effects of these red algae.

Antinociceptive properties in mice of a lectin isolated from the marine alga Amansia multifida Lamouroux

“…In addition, D-mannose significantly changed the LEC antinociceptive effect suggesting the involvement of this carbohydrate in the LEC effect, similarly to results of an earlier study and ours (16,18).…”

“…These lectin effects were totally or partially reversed by naloxone, indicating the involvement of the opioid system. Similarly to that study (16), we also showed antinociceptive activity in the lectin from A. multifida, as assessed by the writhing test, as well as by the formalin and hot-plate tests. The effect was observed with doses as low as or even lower than 1 mg/kg.…”

“…Similar effects have been demonstrated in lectins from other alga species such as that from the genus Bryothamnion (16). Thus, B. seaforthii and B. triquetrum significantly inhibited acetic acid-induced abdominal constrictions, and also inhibited the 1st and 2nd phases of the formalin test.…”

Anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive activities of methanolic extract from red seaweed Dichotomaria obtusata

“…We have previously demonstrated the antinociceptive activity of aqueous extract of this seaweed in the same test Frías et al (2011), although in that study we obtained an effect more potent using oral administration. Inhibition of number of writhes in extracts and components obtained from seaweeds were also demonstrated by Guzmán et al (2001), Viana et al, (2002) and Frías et al (2011).…”

“…Recently, other metabolites with antiinflammatory activity have been obtained from seaweeds, including a glycosterol (Awad, 2000), a phlorotannin (Sugiura et al, 2006), polyphenols (Jung et al, 2009;El Gamal, 2010) and polysaccharides (Ananthi et al, 2010). Moreover, various seaweeds have antinociceptive properties (Anca et al, 1993;Guzmán et al, 2001;Viana et al, 2002).…”