Antioxidant Properties of two Edible Green Seaweeds From Northern Coasts of the Persian Gulf

BACKGROUND: Ulva genus, an edible seaweed, and an important food source in many south-east Asian countries is also recognized by its synonymous name as Enteromorpha. OBJECTIVES: This study was carried out to evaluate antioxidant activity, contents of total phenolics, and flavonoids of methanolic extracts of edible green seaweeds including Ulva clathrata (Roth) C. Agardh and three samples of Ulva prolifera O.F.Müller grown at different parts of Bushehr Province along the northern coasts of the Persian Gulf. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The seaweeds were collected from Bordekhoun, Northern Ouli, Taheri and Kangan coasts in December 2011. Methanolic extracts of the seaweeds were assessed for their antioxidant activity using DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) radical scavenging assay and was performed in a microplate reader. Total phenolics were determined by Folin-Ciocalteu reagent and flavonoid content was evaluated by colorimetric method. RESULTS: All samples showed antioxidant activity to various degrees. Ulva clathrata exhibited a high DPPH radical scavenging activity with a low IC(50) (the half-maximal inhibitory concentration) (0.715 ± 0.078 mg. mL(-1)). The highest phenolic content (4.468 ± 0.379 mg GAE g(-1)) (gallic acid equivalent) and flavonoid content (45.577 ± 0.949 mg RE g-1) (rutin equivalent) were also observed in U .clathrata. The phenolic and flavonoid contents showed positive correlations with the DPPH radical scavenging activity and negative correlations with IC(50) (P < 0.01). Besides, Results showed that there was a positive correlation between total phenolics and flavonoid content of extracts (P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Strong positive and significant correlations between DPPH radical scavenging and phenolic and flavonoid contents showed that, phenolic compounds, including flavonoids are the main contributors of antioxidant activity in these Ulva species and variations in phenolics and flavonoid contents of the seaweed extracts may be due to the variation in physicochemical parameters such as salinity amongst the selected stations.