extraction of seaweed
1.0 TITLE
Extraction of Phenol and Flavanoid compound of the edible brown seaweed species (Eucheuma Cottonii).
2.0 INTRODUCTION
2.1 An overview of Seaweed
Macro-algae or “seaweeds” are multicellular plants growing in salt or fresh water. They belong to the lower plants, meaning that they do not have roots, stems and leaves. Instead they are composed of a thallus (leaf-like) and sometimes a stem and a foot (holdfast). Some species have gas-filled structures to provide buoyancy. They are often fast growing and can reach sizes of up to 60 m in length (Hugh, 2003). They are classified into three broad groups based on their pigmentation: i) brown seaweed ii) red seaweed and iii) green seaweed (Mohamed et al., 2012). Red algae is the most abundant group (6000 species), followed by brown (2000 species) and green (1200 species) (Venugopal, 2011).
Seaweeds live in a harsh environment where they are exposed to a wide range of environmental stress such as light, rapid fluctuations in temperature, osmotic stress and desiccation. These factors can lead to the formation of free radicals and other strong oxidizing agents but seaweeds seldom suffer any serious photodynamic damage. This fact implies that seaweed cells have some protective mechanisms and compounds (Matsukawa et al., 1997). A greater diversity in biochemical composition of seaweeds paves the way to explore a variety of compounds in their body composition with a wide range of physiological and biochemical characteristics, many of which are rare or absent in other taxonomic groups (Holdt & Kraan, 2011). These beneficial effects can be attributed to the complex mixture of phytochemicals which possess antioxidant, antimicrobial, anticancer and antiviral activity. The compounds responsible for these activities include phenolic compounds, sulphated polysaccharides and organic acids (Liu, 2003 and Podsedek, 2007)
Seaweeds have been used by humans as medicine and food for at least 13,000 years. Over the past
Extraction of Phenol and Flavanoid compound of the edible brown seaweed species (Eucheuma Cottonii).
2.0 INTRODUCTION
2.1 An overview of Seaweed
Macro-algae or “seaweeds” are multicellular plants growing in salt or fresh water. They belong to the lower plants, meaning that they do not have roots, stems and leaves. Instead they are composed of a thallus (leaf-like) and sometimes a stem and a foot (holdfast). Some species have gas-filled structures to provide buoyancy. They are often fast growing and can reach sizes of up to 60 m in length (Hugh, 2003). They are classified into three broad groups based on their pigmentation: i) brown seaweed ii) red seaweed and iii) green seaweed (Mohamed et al., 2012). Red algae is the most abundant group (6000 species), followed by brown (2000 species) and green (1200 species) (Venugopal, 2011).
Seaweeds live in a harsh environment where they are exposed to a wide range of environmental stress such as light, rapid fluctuations in temperature, osmotic stress and desiccation. These factors can lead to the formation of free radicals and other strong oxidizing agents but seaweeds seldom suffer any serious photodynamic damage. This fact implies that seaweed cells have some protective mechanisms and compounds (Matsukawa et al., 1997). A greater diversity in biochemical composition of seaweeds paves the way to explore a variety of compounds in their body composition with a wide range of physiological and biochemical characteristics, many of which are rare or absent in other taxonomic groups (Holdt & Kraan, 2011). These beneficial effects can be attributed to the complex mixture of phytochemicals which possess antioxidant, antimicrobial, anticancer and antiviral activity. The compounds responsible for these activities include phenolic compounds, sulphated polysaccharides and organic acids (Liu, 2003 and Podsedek, 2007)
Seaweeds have been used by humans as medicine and food for at least 13,000 years. Over the past