Algae as promising organisms for environment and health

Aqueous extracts of microalgae exhibit antioxidant and anticancer activities

“…The alkaloid extract was dissolved in 2 mL of chloroform, then 25 mL of 0.02 N H 2 SO 4 were added, The resulting solution was warmed to driven off the chloroform, cooled and titrated back the excess acid with 0.02 N NaOH solution, using methyl red as an indicator. Each ml of H 2 SO 4 (0.02 N) was equivalent to 5.78 mg of alkaloid.…”

“…The radical cation was prepared by mixing a 7 mM ABTS stock solution with 2.45 mM potassium persulfate (1/1, v/v) and leaving the mixture for [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16] h until the reaction was completed and the absorbance was stable. The ABTS .+ solution was diluted with ethanol to an absorbance of (0.70 暲0.05) at 734 nm for measurements.…”

“…Such chemicals are presumably related to the regulation and succession of algal and bacterial populations [5] . These chemicals are expected to be synthesized under stress conditions and low growth rate and released at concentration large enough to be effective.…”

“…Conclusions: Nitrogen starvation (0.00 g/L nitrate) induced an increase and comparable antioxidant and anticancer activities to those cultured in the highest nitrate content. a rich source of potentially useful natural products) [5] . Over 40 different Nostocales species, the majority of which are Anabaena and Nostoc spp.…”

“…They have developed a number of mechanisms by which cyanobacteria defend themselves against environmental stressors. Important among them are the production of photoprotective compounds such as mycosporine-like amino acids (MAAs) and Scytonemin [5] enzymes such as superoxide dismutase, catalase and peroxidases [7] repaire of DNA damage [8] and synthesis of shock proteins [9] .…”