A REVIEW ON THE PHARMACOGNOSTICAL, ECOLOGY AND PHARMACOLOGICAL STUDIES ON MARINE RED ALGAE – HYPNEA VALENTIAE

A REVIEW ON THE PHARMACOGNOSTICAL, ECOLOGY AND PHARMACOLOGICAL STUDIES ON MARINE RED ALGAE – HYPNEA VALENTIAE

S. Dhanalakshmi ^{* 1} and S. Jayakumari ²

Department of Pharmacognosy ¹, Faculty of Pharmacy, Dr. M. G. R. Educational and Research Institute, Velappanchavadi, Chennai - 600077, Tamil Nadu, India.

School of Pharmaceutical Sciences ², Vels Institute of Science, Technology & Advanced Studies (VISTAS), Pallavaram, Chennai - 600117, Tamil Nadu, India.

ABSTRACT: Seaweeds are the potential marine living resources in the world. More than 20,000 seaweeds are distributed throughout the world, of which only 221 (1.1%) are commercially utilized, which includes 145 species for food and 110 species for phycocolloid production. The biodiversity of the marine environment and the associated chemical diversity constitute a practically unlimited resource of new active substances in the field of the development of bioactive products. Carrageenans are galactans extracted mainly from species belonging to Gigartinales. These sulfated galactans, consist of linear chains of D-galactopyranoses linked in a (1 & 3) and b (1 & 4). Seaweeds constitute some of the most important reservoirs of new therapeutic compounds for humans. Several of them have been shown to have many biological activities, including anticancer activity, in this present review study is mainly focused on Hypnea valentiae.

Seaweeds, Red algae, Hypnea valentiae, Biodiversity, Phytoconstituent

INTRODUCTION:

1.1 Red Algae: The red algae form a distinct group characterized by having eukaryotic cells without flagella and centrioles, chloroplasts that lack external endoplasmic reticulum and contain phycobiliproteins as accessory pigments, which give them their red color ¹. The chloroplasts in red algae resemble Cyanobacteria both biochemically and structurally. Food reserves are stored outside of the chloroplasts as Floridean starch ². Of the approximately 6000 species, most red algae are marine; only a few occur in freshwater ³.

The red algal genus Hypnea (Lamouroux, 1813) is one of the widest spread macroalgae on tropical and subtropical shores ^{4, 5}. The genus, known to include 53 species, is of economic importance as a source of carrageenan ⁶.

1.2. Classification: ^{7, 8, 9}

Phylum    : Rhodophyta

Order        : Gigartinales;

Family      : Hypneaceae

Species     : valentiae (Turner) Montagne

Descriptive Name: Hypnea with upturned spines.

1.3. Features: 1. Plants are dark red-brown, 100- 300 mm tall, with definite upright branches bearing, radial side branches, gradually shorter ¹⁰.

2. Short spine-like branches, few on main branches, point upwards ¹¹.

Usual habitat common in sheltered localities but where there is appreciable current flow, from shallow water to 11 m deep. Similar species Hypnea charoides but that species has denser spines that are at right angles to branches ¹².

2. Phytoconstituent Nature in Red Algae: Seaweeds are known as valuable sources of protein, elements, dietary fibers, vitamins, essential amino acids, and essential fatty acids. Moreover, seaweeds also contain potential bioactive compounds which 87 exhibits antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal properties. The carrageenans - a type of sugar molecule - found in red marine algae are believed to boost interferon production in the immune system and might be an effective preventative against diseases like HIV, shingles and cold sores ¹³. They contain high amounts of fiber, protein, and minerals, thus considered an important nutritional food. They help improve the immune system, stimulating the functions of leukocytes ¹⁴. It seems that this type of algae is a great adjuvant in the treatment of urinary tract infections, asthma, stomach disorders, skin diseases, boils, obesity, and high cholesterol levels. They also proved to be effective in the treatment of ulcers and tumors ¹⁵. Seaweed extracts possess potent bacterial activity against the bacterial strain, thus supporting their folkloric usage, promising a future scope for the use of these marine seaweeds against ent microbial populations ^{16, 17, 18}. The characterization of the active compounds from seaweed extracts revealed the most focusing parameter, to determine the mechanism of pathway ^{19, 20}.

FIG. 1: ENTIRE PLANT PICTURE OF HYPNEA VALENTIAE (TURNER) MONTAGNE

TABLE 1: REVIEW ON PHARMACOGNOSTICAL STUDIES OF HYPNEA VALENTIAE

TABLE 2: REVIEW ON PHYTOCHEMICAL STUDIES OF HYPNEA VALENTIAE

TABLE 3: REVIEW ON PHARMACOLOGICAL STUDIES OF HYPNEA VALENTIAE

TABLE 4: REVIEW ON BIOTECHNOLOGICAL STUDIES OF HYPNEA VALENTIAE

TABLE 5: REVIEW ON ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES OF HYPNEA VALENTIAE

CONCLUSION: Seaweeds are primitive non-flowering plants, which contain different vitamins, minerals, trace elements, proteins, and bioactive substances. Many polysaccharides are recovered from seaweeds, with the most important of them beingagar, alginic acid, laminarin, fucoidin, galactans, carrageenan, xylan, and mannans.

These seaweeds possess antibacterial activity against bacterial pathogens, thus supporting their folkloric usage, promising a future scope for the use of these marine seaweeds against microbial populations.

From the review of studies, we concluded that the Marine environment is an exceptional reservoir of biologically active natural products, many of which exhibit structural features not been found in terrestrial natural products.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: Nil

CONFLICT OF INTEREST: Nil

REFERENCES:

1. Mshigeni KE: Spore germination and Early stages of Development in Hypnea valentiae (Turner) Montagen, Rhodophyta, Botanica Marina 1976; 20(6): 381-384.
2. Masa Y: A taxonomic revision of a Hypnea charoids and valentiae Complex (Rhodophyta, Gifartinales) in Japan, with a description of Hypnea flexicaulis, nov, Phycological Research, March 2000; 1: 27-35.
3. Anitha CA, Balamurugan R, Swarnakumar NS, Sivakumar K and Thangaradjou T: Evaluation of seaweeds for biochemical composition and calorific Seaweed. Res. Utiln 2008; 30: 197-202.
4. Caccamese S, Azzolina R, Furnari G, Cormaci M and Grasso S: Antimicrobial and antiviral activities of extracts from Mediterranean algae. Bot 1980; 23: 285-288.
5. Chapman VJ: Seaweeds and their uses. The Camelot Press Ltd., Methuen and Co Ltd., London and Southampton, Edn II, 1970: 63-85.
6. Chester CG and Stott JA: The production of antibiotic substances by seaweeds. In: (T. Braarud and N.A. Soressen, eds) Second International Seaweed Symp. Pergamon, New York 1956; 49-53.
7. Riadi CI, Martine-Lopez H, Dominguez-Seglar J, Gomez-Vidal JF, Bouziane JA and Kadiri HM: compounds in macroalgae for human consumption. Food Chem 2009; 121: 634-638.
8. Figueiredo JG, Bitencourt FS and Cunha: Content of eight species of seaweeds from north Borneo. J Appl Phycol: 20(4): 367-373.
9. Cox S, Abu-Ghannam N and Gupta S: International Food Research Journal 2010; 17: 205-220.
10. Darcy-Vrillon B: Nutritional aspects of the developing use of marine macroalgae for the human food industry. Int. J. Food Sci. Nutr 1993; 44: 523-535.
11. Dayong S, Jing, L, Shuju G and Lijun H: Antithrombotic effect of bromophenol, the alga- derived thrombin inhibitor. Int Journal of Biotechno 2008; 136: 763-769.
12. De Campos-Takaki M, Koenong L and Perira GC: Screening of marine algae from Brazilian northeastern coast for antimicrobial activity. Bot. 1988; 31: 375-377.
13. De Felicio R, De Albuquerque S, Young MCM Yokoya NS and Debonsi HM: Trypanocidal, leishmanicidal 2010.
14. Dodge JD: The fine structure of algal cells. London, New York: Aca-demic Press 1973; 377: 139-146.
15. Schmidt EC, Scariot LA, Rover T and Bouzon ZL: Changes in ultrastructure and histochemistry of two red macroalgae strains of Kappaphycus alvarezii (Rhodophyta, Gigartinales), as a consequence of ultraviolet B radiation exposure. Micron 2009; 40: 860-9.
16. L-Schmidt ÉC, Maraschin M and Bouzon ZL: Effects of UVB radiation on thecarragenophyte Kappaphycus alvarezii (Rhodophyta Gigartinales): changes in ultrastructure, growth, and photosynthetic pigments. Hydrobiologia 2010; 649: 171-82.
17. Lamouroux JVF: Essai sur les genres de la famille des thalassiophytesnon articulées. Annales du Muséum d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris 2008; 20: 267-293.
18. Abbott IA and Norris JN: Taxonomy of economic seaweeds, vol. III California: La Jolla 1992: 256.
19. Ateweberhan M and Van Reine WFP: A taxonomic survey of seaweeds from Eritrea. Blumea 2005; 50: 65-111.
20. Bitencourt FDS, Figueiredo JG, Mota MRL, Bezerra CCR, Silvestre PP and Vale MR: Antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory effects of a mucin-binding agglutinin isolated from the red marine alga cervicornis. Naunyn Schmiedebergs Arch Pharmacol 2008; 11: 142-149.
    

    ---

    How to cite this article:

    Dhanalakshmi S and Jayakumari S: A review on the pharmacognostical, ecology and pharmacological studies on marine red algae - Hypnea valentiae. Int J Pharm Sci & Res 2019; 10(3): 1065-71. doi: 10.13040/IJPSR.0975-8232.10(3).1065-71.

    ---

    All © 2013 are reserved by International Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research. This Journal licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

    ---