Anti-allergic efficacy of 80 % methanol extracts from the brown alga, Sargassum macrocarpum

Sargassum macrocarpum is a perennial brown macroalga that forms the most important portion of seaweed beds with sufficient biomass. Algae have been proven to be beneficial functional food and pharmaceutical material. There have been a few reports on the bioactivity of algal components. The algal population discovered growing naturally on the coast of Nishinoshima town, Shimane Prefecture, Japan was collected as experimental samples. They were collected from the sea at depths of 1, 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25-m. In this study, an 80% methanol extract of the alga was prepared. Its bioactivity or an anti-allergic effect was demonstrated by reducing ear swelling in Institute of Cancer Research mice, suppressing degranulation in rat basophile leukemia-2H3 cells without inducing cell death, and inhibiting inflammatory-related enzymatic activities (phospholipase A2, lipoxygenase, cyclooxygenase-2, and hyaluronidase). Thus, S. macrocarpum could be utilized as healthy functional food and pharmaceutical material.