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Screening for anticoagulant activity in marine algae from the Northwest Mexican Pacific coast

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Abstract

Disorders in blood coagulation can lead to an increased risk of bleeding (hemorrhage) or clotting (thrombosis). These illnesses have increased over the last decades and no useful new substances have been discovered to remediate them. In search of new compounds from marine natural resources, macroalgae from the Northwest Mexican Pacific coast were investigated in order to detect anticoagulant activity. Egregia menziesii, Ulva neumatoidea, Porphyra perforata, Silvetia compressa, and Codium fragile were collected from Ensenada coasts. Collected materials were cleaned, dried, milled, and stored until use. Proximate chemical composition and sulfate content were determined in dried powder. Hot and cold aqueous extracts were obtained from the dried algae in order to isolate polysaccharides and similar compounds. Methanol-soluble compounds were separated by means of Soxhlet extraction. Organic and aqueous extracts were screened for anticoagulant activity in both intrinsic and extrinsic pathways of clot formation. Clotting activity was studied by standardized plasma coagulation tests (activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) and prothrombin time (PT)). Heparin, a sulfated glycosaminoglycan widely used in anticoagulant therapy, was used as reference. Effects were defined either as aPTT index (Sample aPTT/Control aPTT ratio) or PT index (Sample PT/Control PT ratio). Some of the fractions showed anticoagulant activity over intrinsic pathways, whereas they were found to be coagulants on the extrinsic pathway. The highest aPTT index was 1.8 for U. nematoidea (1 μg mL−1). Hot aqueous extracts from E. menziesii (1 μg mL−1) showed the highest potency, with an aPTT index of 1.4. Sulfate content and anticoagulant activity were not correlated.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Oceanographer Raul Aguilar-Rosas for identifying the seaweeds. This study was funded by the Ministry of Education from Mexico through the PROMEP program.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Marine Pharmacology Laboratory, Marine Science Department, Baja California State University, Km 106 FRWY Tijuana-Ensenada, Ensenada, Mexico

    Graciela Guerra-Rivas & Gabriela Alarcón-Arteaga

  2. Cell Biology Laboratory, Bioengineering Department, Baja California State University, Tijuana-Ensenada, Ensenada, Mexico

    Claudia Mariana Gómez-Gutiérrez

  3. Marine Chemistry Laboratory, Marine Science Department, Baja California State University, Tijuana-Ensenada, Ensenada, Mexico

    Irma Esthela Soria-Mercado

  4. Biology Laboratory, Science Department, Baja California State University, Tijuana-Ensenada, Ensenada, Mexico

    Nahara Ernestina Ayala-Sánchez

Authors
  1. Graciela Guerra-Rivas
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  2. Claudia Mariana Gómez-Gutiérrez
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  3. Gabriela Alarcón-Arteaga
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  4. Irma Esthela Soria-Mercado
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  5. Nahara Ernestina Ayala-Sánchez
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Correspondence to Graciela Guerra-Rivas.

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Guerra-Rivas, G., Gómez-Gutiérrez, C.M., Alarcón-Arteaga, G. et al. Screening for anticoagulant activity in marine algae from the Northwest Mexican Pacific coast. J Appl Phycol 23, 495–503 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-010-9618-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-010-9618-3

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