• Journal of Life Science
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• v.20 no.12
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• pp.1851-1858
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• 2010

Estrogen deficiency in peri- and postmenopausal women results in variety of neurovegetative, psychic and somatic symptoms, and may contribute to severe diseases within the aged female population. Ecklonia stolonifera (ES) is an edible brown algae traditionally used in fishery towns in Far East Asia. This study was performed to investigate the effects of ES extracts on blood flow and serum lipid concentration in ovariectomized rats. Weight-matched female Sprague-Dawley strain rats were assigned to four groups. Three groups were surgically ovariectomized (OVX). The fourth group was sham operated. Rats were randomly assigned to the following groups: sham-operated rats (Sham), ovariectomized control rats (OVX-CON), ovariectomized rats supplemented with ES extract at 50 mg/kg bw/day (OVX-ES50) and ovariectomized rats supplemented with ES extract at 200 mg/kg bw/day (OVX-ES200). Serum total cholesterol and triglyceride contents decreased in the sham group compared to the OVX-CON group. Six weeks feeding of ES extract resulted in a significant (p<0.05) lowering of serum triglyceride and a lowering tendency of total cholesterol level. The level of Hdl-cholesterol in serum increased by supplementation of ES extracts at 50 mg/kg and 200 mg/kg bw/day (p<0.05). Blood passage time of the ES extracts-supplemented group was higher than the OVX-CON group. The ability of platelet aggregation of groups treated with ES extracts was less than that of the OVX-CON group. These results suggest that the beneficial effects of ES extract may be used to possibly improve on the metabolic syndrome of menopausal women.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.39 no.12
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• pp.1769-1775
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• 2010

Menopause is often associated with the incidence of several chronic diseases including osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease, and obesity. The purpose of this study was designed to evaluate the possibility of osteoporosis prevention in postmenopausal women. In this study, we investigated the effects of Ecklonia stolonifera (ES) extracts on bone turnover markers in ovariectomized rats. For this study, the following four groups of 9-week-old Sprague-Dawley rats were evaluated over 6 weeks: normal rats (SHAM), ovariectomized rats (OVX-CON) and ovariectomized rats that were treated with ES extracts. We measured the osteocalcin and C-telopeptide of collagen cross-links (CTx) content, enzyme ALP activity in serum and collagen content in the cartilage, bone, skin and lungs. We found that the levels of indicators of bone metabolism such as alkaline phosphatase (ALP), osteocalcin and CTx were lower in rats in the ES extract group than the OVX-CON group. In addition, the collagen contents in the bone, cartilage, skin and lungs decreased in response to ovariectomy, but the levels of collagen were greater in the bone of rats that were treated with ES extract than in the bone of rats in the OVX-CON group. These results suggest that the ES may be an effective functional food to prevent osteoporosis in postmenopausal women.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.20 no.12
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• pp.1807-1811
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• 2010

In order to evaluate estrogenic compounds in brown algae, an in vitro test system for the verification of estrogenic activity was applied. Fractions from ethanol extracts of each brown alga were prepared by a systematic fractionation procedure with solvents such as $H_2O$, hexane, butanol and methanol. Aqueous fractions of brown algae showed the highest estrogenic activities. Estrogenic activities of $500\;{\mu}g/ml$ aqueous fractions of Undaria pinnatifida and Laminaria japonica showed almost the same strength as that of $10^{-7}\;M$ standard solution ($17{\beta}$-estradiol). Furthermore, estrogenic activities of $500\;{\mu}g/ml$ aqueous fractions of Ecklonia stolonifera and Porphyra suborbiculate represented higher activities than that of $10^{-8}\;M$ $17{\beta}$-estradiol. These observations suggest that aqueous fractions of all these brown algae are expected to possess estrogenic compounds and could be developed as estrogenic agents for postmenopausal disorder.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.15-22
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• 1980

In this study, two species of algae, Ecklonia stolonifera, Sargassum thunbergii and one species of marine plant, Zostera marina(rhizoid and stem) were collected and extamined to determine the extractability of water soluble protein and the influences of various factors including extraction time, temperature, ratio of sample vs solvent and pH upon the extractability were tested. The effects of precipitation treatments for isolation of algal protein from the extracts(TCA treatment, methanol treatment and pH control) were also tested. Amino nitrogen and total nitrogen of purified samples made by obtained optimum conditions were estimated. The effect of the ratio of sample vs solvent on extractability differed from species to species which was enhances at 1:100(w/v) in Sargassum thunbergii and Zostera marina while 1:150(w/v) for Ecklonia stolonifera. The effect of extraction time and temperature was revealed differently in all species which might be considered to be caused by differences in the constitution of algal tissues. But in case of TCA insoluble nitrogen, it was showed the maximum extractability at $40-50^{\circ}C$ for 1 hour extraction. The optimum pH for the ext action of total nitrogen was 9-12 while the optimum pH was 6-7 for TCA insoluble nitrogen. And the pH control appeared to be most effective in the influence of precipitation treatment for isolation of algal protein.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.31 no.11
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• pp.1037-1045
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• 2021

The prevalence of obesity is increasing worldwide, and since obesity is associated with dietary factors and sedentary lifestyles, it is a disease that is readily developing in the modern population. Because obesity is accompanied by serious complications such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease, prevention and treatment are important. Currently, drugs such as liraglutide and phentermine are used to treat obesity by suppressing appetite and inducing gastrointestinal motility delay. However, various side effects may occur, including thyroid cancer, cardiovascular problems, and central nervous system disorders. Therefore, to explore an obesity treatment method with relatively few side effects, a method known as "fat browning" was introduced to change white adipose tissue into brown adipose tissue to increase energy consumption. Ongoing studies are attempting to find effective natural substances to safely induce browning. Many natural substances have been identified. The induction of browning by treatment with natural substances generally involves three mechanisms: positive control of browning-inducing factors, inhibition of differentiation into white adipose tissue, and the activation of mechanisms related to browning. In this study, we describe plant extracts with known browning-inducing effects, such as strawberry, black raspberry, cinnamomum cassia, and Ecklonia stolonifera extracts. We also summarize the underlying mechanisms of action identified thus far, including the signaling pathway mediated by these extracts to induce browning. Furthermore, the effects of brown adipose tissue generated through browning on heart disease as an endocrine organ disruptor are discussed.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.133-140
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• 2007

In 2006, we studied herbivore consumption rate and preference for algal species using laboratory experiments. In the no-choice feeding experiment, three herbivores (two sea urchins, Stronglyocentrotus nudus and Stronglyocentrotus intermedius and an abalone, Haliotis discus hannai) showed significantly (P<0.05) distinct preferences for four algae (Laminaria japonica, Undaria pinnatifida, Costaria costata and Ecklonia stolonifera). The alga preferred by S. nudus was L. japonica followed by U. pinnatifida, C. costata and E. stolonifera with respective daily feeding rates of $5.7{\pm}:0.85\;g,\;4.4{\pm}0.89\;g,\;3.1{\pm}0.39\;g\;and\;2.1{\pm}0.32\;g(mean{\pm}SE)$. A similar trend was found for S. intermedius. Interestingly, the herbivore consumption rates for the algae differed with or without competition. The competition stimulated the feeding activity for S. nudus, but lowered the activity for S. intermedius. The multi-choice feeding experiment confirmed that L. japonica was significantly preferred by two herbivores: S. nudus and H. discus hannai (Duncan's multiple range test, ANOVA, p<0.05).

• Food Science and Biotechnology
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.506-512
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• 2009

The antimicrobial activity of water and ethanol extracts from 30 species of algae was measured using the agar diffusion method and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) test. In agar diffusion method, the 95% ethanol extracts from 12 of the algae showed growth inhibition against the tested microorganisms. In particular, Ishige okamurai, Ecklonia stolonifera, Sargassum siliquastrum, Sargassum thunbergii, Colpomenia bullosa, and Ecklonia cava had strong antibacterial activities against Gram-positive bacteria at 4 mg/mL. In the results of the MIC test, S. siliquastrum showed the most antimicrobial activity, where its MIC values ranged from 0.005 to 0.0075% against Listeria monocytogenes, Clostridium perfringens, and Basillus subtilis. In the thermal stability test, for the ethanol extracts of I. okamurai, E. cava, S. siliquastrum, S. thunbergii, and C. bullosa, the extracts proved to maintain high antimicrobial activities when they were treated at $121^{\circ}C$ for 15 min. In the pH stability test, the antimicrobial activity of the S. siliquastrum ethanol extract was stable from pH 2 to 10, whereas the activity of the other species ethanol extracts were weakened under pH 10 against several microbes.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.34 no.8
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• pp.1293-1296
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• 2005

Nitrite plays an important role in the formation of carcinogenic nitrosamine. In order to effectively inhibit the formation of carcinogenic nitrosamine in food and biological systems, scavenging of residual nitrite is necessary. In screening test of nitrite-scavenging effect of seaweed, The methanol extract from Phaeophyta was more effective than those from Rhodophyta and Chlorophyta. Among the brown algae family, Laminariaceae, A. cribrosum (90.4$\%$) and E. cava (80.1$\%$), E. stolonifera (79.0$\%$) that belong to genus Ecklonia showed marked nitrite-scavenging effect at pH 1.2. Furthermore, these algae showed potent reducing power and radical scavenging activity. The nitrite-scavenging effect was correlated with level of reducing power.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.299-303
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• 1993

The antioxidant activity of methanol extracts of plants and marine algae was tested by using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl(DPPH). Five plant extracts(Prunus davidiana, Eriobotrya japonica, Artemisia iwayomogi, Stirodella tolyrrhiza and Ulmus davidiana) and two algae (Ecklonia stolonifera and Symphycoladia latiuscula) were found to be the most effective in DPPH radical scavenging activity. The methanol extract obtained from the stems of Prunus davidiana was fractionated with several solvents. The ethylacetate soluble fraction exhibiting the strongest antioxidant activity was further purified by repeated silica gel and Sephadex LH-20 column chromatography. Antioxidant flavonoids and flavonoid glycosides were isolated and the most active ones was identified as (+)-catechin by MS, $^1H-NMR$ and $^{13}C-NMR$. Its antioxidant activity was higher than that oil vitamin C.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.46-54
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• 2021

The seasonal and vertical biomass of marine forest seaweeds were examined to select a suitable species at 12 sites of the South Sea in Korea between 2018 and 2019. The Habitat Suitability Index (HSI) was also calculated in terms of biomass for six species (three kelp and three Sargassum species). A total of 16 marine forest-forming species including four kelp and 12 Sargassum species were observed at the 12 sites. The average annual seaweed biomass by season and depth ranged from 843.73-2,925.85 g wet wt. m^-2 at the eastern South Sea and from 343.87-4,580.10 g wet wt. m^-2 at the western South Sea. In the kelp species, the Ecklonia cava biomass was predominant, followed by E. stolonifera. The macroalgal species with the greatest biomass was Sargassum macrocarpum, followed by S. horneri. The HSI values of E. stolonifera were between 0.76-1.0 at eight sites and those of E. cava were 0.58-0.92 at four sites, indicating that E. stolonifera was more suitable than E. cava. In the HSI values of the Sargassum species, S. horneri ranged between 0.84-1.0 at all 12 sites and the S. macrocarpum values were between 0.68-0.99. The results indicate that E. cava and S. macrocarpum were the most suitable for the marine forest construction in terms of the seaweed biomass, and E. stolonifera and S. horneri in terms of the HSI values. Thus, we suggest that seaweed biomass and HSI values should be considered when choosing suitable forest-forming species.