The Potential of Caulerpa spp. for Biotechnological and Pharmacological Applications

Anti-proliferative and ROS-inhibitory activities reveal the anticancer potential of Caulerpa species

Seaweeds are considered a promising functional food and safe for human consumption as they have significant health benefits. Five abundant tropical seaweeds, Caulerpa racemosa var. macrophysa, Caulerpa scalpelliformis, Grateloupia indica, Sargassum linearifolium, and Spatoglossum asperum rich in metabolites, phenolic, and flavonoid compounds, were analyzed for the anti-proliferative and ROS inhibitory activities including transcript expression of cancer-linked key genes and apoptosis. C. racemosa var. macrophysa showed the maximum effective activities with a lower dose of extract, about 130 ± 30 and 23 ± 1 μg ml^-1 EC₅₀ dose for HeLa and Huh-7, respectively, followed by C. scalpelliformis, showing EC₅₀ dose about 200 ± 10 and 140 ± 30 μg ml^-1, respectively. Similarly, about 56% and 54% ROS inhibition were determined with Caulerpa spp. for HeLa and Huh-7 cells, respectively. Results indicated that tropical green seaweed Caulerpa spp. (C. racemosa var. macrophysa and C. scalpelliformis) have substantial potential of ROS inhibition. Further, it was observed that different cancer-linked marker proteins encoding genes were deferentially expressed with seaweed extracts in different cell lines. Overall, it is concluded that Caulerpa spp. are rich in antioxidant and anti-proliferative activities. Caulerpa spp. have potential to be explored further for cancer preventive properties or functional food or nutraceuticals applications.

Complete chloroplast genome of green alga Caulerpa serrulata (Forsskål) J.Agardh, 1837

The complete chloroplast genome of Caulerpa serrulata from South China Sea has been assembled and characterized for the first time. The circular chloroplast genome was 177,848 bp in length, with a GC content of 33.80%. It contained 117 genes, which included 78 protein-coding genes, 37 tRNA genes, and 2 ribosomal RNA genes. Like other species in Caulerpa, the chloroplast genome of C. serrulata did not demonstrate a typical quadripartite structure. A total of 35 microsatellites (SSRs) were identified in the genome using MISA. Phylogenetic analysis showed that C. serrulata was closer to Caulerpa cupressoides, which further clarified the phylogenetic relationships of species in Caulerpa.

Caulerpenyne and related bis-enol esters are novel-type inhibitors of human 5-lipoxygenase

Caulerpenyne (CYN) is a sesquiterpene from green algae with known inhibitory properties against soybean lipoxygenase. Here we introduce a detailed structure-activity study elucidating the inhibitory effects of CYN and a library of six synthetic CYN analogues on isolated human 5-lipoxygenase (5-LO) and cellular 5-LO in polymorphonuclear leukocytes. Essential structural elements are identified and a structurally simplified inhibitor is introduced. The modes of 5-LO inhibition by CYN and the synthetic inhibitors cannot be assigned to any of the known categories of lipoxygenase inhibitors. These compounds clearly interfere directly with 5-LO and represent rather small and flexible molecules, with unique structures among 5-LO inhibitors identified thus far.