Antioxidant and anticoagulant activity of polyphenol and polysaccharides from fermented Sargassum sp.

The current investigation was carried out with an objective of determining the structural characteristic of
polysaccharides extracted from fermented Sargassum sp. to be used as potent natural heparin substitute
anticoagulant compound. Sargassum sp. fermented with marine lactic acid bacteria was initially subjected
to ethanol precipitation for the recovery of bioactive compounds. Antioxidant activity was maximum in
the soluble fraction whereas anticoagulant activity was observed to be high in the precipitate which corre-
lated with the increased polyphenols and total sugars respectively. The precipitate was purified by anion
exchange chromatography and the fractions collected were analyzed for total sugars and anticoagulant
activity. There was 2.6–3.9-folds increase in anticoagulant activity in the final purified fractions, with a
maximum activity in case of sample fermented with Enterococcus faecium (6.7 ± 0.22 IU/mg). Structural
elucidation of potential anticoagulant polysaccharide by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR)
and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) analysis indicated the presence of alginate rich in mannuronic
acid.