Phytochemical Screening and Heavy Metal Analysis of Ulva Reticulata

Abstract

Objective: Ulva reticulata is a marine edible green seaweed widely distributed along the coastal lines of India. The present study was designed to screen the phytochemicals and evaluate heavy metals content of U. reticulata collected from Rameshwaram, Tamil Nadu, India, in the perspective of assessing their therapeutic value and/or safety in relation to its uses. Method:The seaweed sample was subjected to extraction with solvents of different polarities (methanol, ethanol, acetone, chloroform, and petroleum ether) and screened for phytochemicals according to standard methods. Heavy metal analysis was also performed with the dried sample powder using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrophotometer (ICP-OES).Result: Preliminary phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of reducing sugar, proteins, flavonoids, glycosides, alkaloids, and anthraquinones. ICP-OES indicated the seaweed to contain relative amount of heavy metals in the order of iron (Fe) > chromium (Cr) > Zinc (Zn) > nickel (Ni) > copper (Cu) > lead (Pb) -cadmium (Cd) and is within the permissible limits set by the WHO/FAO, except Fe and Cr. Conclusion:The different solvent extracts of U. reticulata showed the presence of the number of phytochemicals. Furthermore, the present study has revealed the presence of heavy metals in U. reticulata which can be a representative picture of the dissolved metals in the aquatic phase.

Phytochemical screening and antibacterial assessment of two macroalgae Ulva papenfussi and Ulva nematoidea (Chlorophyta) against the bacterium Vibrio parahaemolyticus

“…Phenolic compounds, polyphenols, and tannins were highly present in both macroalgae species. Our results are consistent with those reported for U. reticulata (Gomathi and Sheba, 2018) in polyphenols and phenolic compounds in chloroform and acetone extract, respectively; with the presence of phenolic and tannin compounds in methanolic extracts of U. lactuca reported by Whankatte and Ambhore (2016), and are consistent with the high presence of phenols reported by Shankhadarwar (2015) in U. lactuca extracted by thin-layer chromatography. Vinayak et al (2011) andCitarasu (2010) indicated that phenolic compounds and flavonoids are known for their pharmacological properties due to their reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging ability.…”

“…They possess anticoagulant, antioxidant, immunostimulant, antibacterial, antiprotozoal, and antifungal capacity (Leto-Aikaterini et al, 2019; Patel, 2012; Thuy et al, 2016; Yaich et al, 2013). The high presence of carbohydrates found in our research is consistent with that reported for U. reticulate by Gomathi and Sheba (2018) and in U. lactuca by Whankatte and Ambhore (2016) using methanol as a solvent for phytochemical screening. Furthermore, Klongklaew et al (2021) found high amounts of sulfated polysaccharides in hot water crude extract of U. intestinalis.…”

“…Alkaloids were other compounds found in low (U. nematoidea) to positive moderate presence (U. papenfussi). This report is consistent with the moderate quantities reported in U. lactuca, E. intestinalis, and U. reticulata (Gomathi and Sheba, 2018;Shankhadarwar, 2015). However, Whankatte and Ambhore (2016) did not report them in U. lactuca evaluated with eight different types of solvents, including methanol.…”

“…Macroalgae are capable of producing exclusive secondary metabolites of biomedical importance that enhance the immune system, being an important source of antiviral, antibacterial and other bioactive compounds with pharmacological properties (Esquer-Miranda et al, 2016; Garcia-Vaquero et al, 2017; Gomathi and Sheba, 2018; Vatsos and Rebours, 2017). These properties can be influenced by macroalgal biology and by factors such as its biological cycle, geographic location, harvest, and extraction method (Cárdenas et al, 2015, Garcia-Vaquero et al, 2017; Mohan et al, 2019; Shevchenko et al, 2009, Thanigaivel et al, 2016).…”

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“…Then the samples were transferred from assay tube to colorimetric cuvette, and absorbance read at 538 nm spectrophotometrically against 95% (v/v) methanol was served as blank. The total terpenoids were calculated using a standard curve from the blank-corrected wavelength 538 nm of the Linalool standard 11,12 .…”