Antiprotozoal,antimycobacterial and cytotoxic potential of some british green algae |
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Authors: | Jasmine Spavieri Marcel Kaiser Rosalyn Casey Suzie Hingley‐Wilson Ajit Lalvani Gerald Blunden Deniz Tasdemir |
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Institution: | 1. Department of Pharmaceutical and Biological Chemistry, Centre for Pharmacognosy and Phytotherapy, School of Pharmacy, University of London, London WC1N 1AX, UK;2. Department of Medical Parasitology and Infection Biology, Swiss Tropical Institute, CH‐4002 Basel, Switzerland;3. Tuberculosis Research Unit, Department of Respiratory Medicine, National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London W2 1PG, UK;4. School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, University of Portsmouth, St Michael's Building, White Swan Road, Portsmouth, PO1 2DT, UK |
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Abstract: | In the continuation of our search for natural sources for antiprotozoal and antitubercular molecules, we have screened the crude extracts of four green marine algae (Cladophora rupestris, Codium fragile ssp. tomentosoides, Ulva intestinalis and Ulva lactuca) collected from the Dorset area of England. Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense, Trypanosoma cruzi, Leishmania donovani and Mycobacterium tuberculosis were used as test organisms in the in vitro assays. The selective toxicity of the extracts was also determined toward mammalian skeletal myoblast (L6) cells. The crude seaweed extracts had no activity against M. tuberculosis, but showed antiprotozoal activity against at least two protozoan species. All algal extracts were active against T. brucei rhodesiense, with C. rupestris being the most potent one (IC50 value 3.7 μg/ml), whilst only C. rupestris and U. lactuca had moderate trypanocidal activity against T. cruzi (IC50 values 80.8 and 34.9 μg/ml). Again, all four extracts showed leishmanicidal activity with IC50 values ranging between 12.0 and 20.2 μg/ml. None of the extracts showed cytotoxicity toward L6 cells, indicating that their antiprotozoal activity is specific. This is the first study reporting antiprotozoal and antimycobacterial activity of British marine algae. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. |
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Keywords: | marine algae Cladophora Codium Ulva Mycobacterium Trypanosoma Leishmania |
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