Seaweeds are considered to be a rich source of biologically
active substances like antioxidants, anti-viral, anti-inflammatory,
and anticoagulant agents. There is some evidence
that seaweeds contain compounds with a relatively high antioxidant
and anti-proliferative activity. Seaweeds are low in
fats, but contain vitamins and bioactive compounds, like
terpenoids and sulfated polysaccharides, the latter being apotential natural antioxidant not found in land plants [35].
Sulfated polysaccharides from marine algae are known to
exhibit many biological and physiological activities, including
anticoagulant, anti-hyperlipidemic, antiviral, anti-tumor
and antioxidant activities [36-39]Previous studies have indicated
that the polysaccharide bioactivities depend on the
degree and position of sulfation [40-41]. The protein content of
the S. sargassum sulfated polysaccharide was (0.66 ± 0.81) %.
This is similar to the results of Tatiana et al [42] which showed
that the protein content of the polysaccharide from brown
seaweed Fucus evanescens was less than 2%. Local variation
in salinity has also shown to be an important factor in the
biological uptake of a number of elements [4The reducing properties are generally associated with the
presence of reduction reactions which are reported to be terminators
of free radical chain reactions by donation of a hydrogen
atom. In most cases, irrespective of the stage in the
oxidative chain in which the antioxidant action is assessed,
most non–enzymatic anti-oxidative activity is mediated by
redox reactions [45-46].