Total phenolic contents and biological activities of Korean seaweed extracts

Abstract

Crude extracts of thirty seaweeds collected in Korea were obtained using 50% ethanol, and total phenolic contents and antioxidant activities were compared. Two brown algae, Ecklonia cava (E. cava) and Sargassum siliquastrum (S. siliquastrum), showing high antioxidant activity based on 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity and superoxide anion radical scavenging activity were further investigated for their inhibitory effects on tyrosinase activity. The E. cava extract had the highest total phenolic content among the seaweeds extracts. Total phenolic contents were strongly correlated with antioxidant activity in the thirty seaweed extracts (R-2 = 0.9169). The E. cava and S. siliquastrum extracts exhibited higher inhibition to tyrosinase activity than butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) and epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG).