In vitro anticancer activity of fucoidan from Turbinaria conoides against A549 cell lines.

The present study was conducted to evaluate the anticancer activity of fucoidan isolated from brown seaweed Turbinaria conoides. Extracted fucoidan contained 53 ± 0.69% of fucose and 38 ± 0.42% of sulphate, respectively. Functional groups and structural characteristics of the fucoidan were analyzed by FT-IR and NMR. In vitro anticancer effect was studied on A549 cell line. Fucoidan inhibited the growth of cancer cells in a dose-dependent manner and potent anticancer activities were 24.9-73.5% in the concentrations of 31.25-500 µg/ml. The CTC50 value against the cancer cell was found to be 45 µg/ml and the CTC50 value of normal Vero cell line is 325 µg/ml. This study suggests that the fucoidan from T. conoides could be significantly improved if the active component is further purified and tested for further investigation in various cancer cell lines.

Harmful metals concentration in sediments and fishes of biologically important estuary, Bay of Bengal.

Study on the accumulation level of heavy metals was conducted on sediment and fishes from estuaries of Bay of Bengal. Heavy metals were determined by using Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometer (ICP-OES) and the results were compared to permissible limits of WHO/USEPA. The accumulation patterns of Fe and Cd were found predominantly in all samples tested when correlated with other metals. It was found that the concentration of metals such as Cd (3.90 ± 0.25 µg/g), Cr (0.44 ± 0.05 µg/g), Ni (0.33 ± 0.01 µg/g), and Mn (1.1 ± 0.11 µg/g) were exceeding the permissible limit, whereas Fe, Co, Pb, and Zn were found within the limit of WHO/USEPA at station 1. In station 2, Cd (16.5 ± 0.4 µg/g), Mn (0.67 ± 0.11 µg/g), and Cr (0.80 ± 0.01 µg/g) were exceeding the permissible limit, whereas Fe, Co, Pb, Ni, and Zn were found within the limit. This study emphasizes that Cd and Mn levels in both stations, are far higher than the acceptable values set by WHO/USEPA and may therefore present human health hazards. It is therefore mandatory to carry out extensive research to evaluate the possible environmental risk factors in the vicinity of both estuaries with respect to heavy metals.