• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.19 no.11
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• pp.1319-1327
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• 2009

Marine red algae of genus Laurencia are becoming the most important resources to produce unique natural metabolites with wide bioactivities. However, reports related to Laurencia undulata, an edible species used as folk herb, are rarely found to date. In this research, 5-hydroxymethyl-2-furfural (5-HMF) was isolated and characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) from Laurencia undulata as well as other marine algae. The following characteristics of 5-HMF were systematically evaluated: its antioxidant activities, such as typical free-radicals scavenging in vitro by electron spin resonance spectrometry (ESR) and intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging; membrane protein oxidation; oxidative enzyme myeloperoxidase (MPO) inhibition; as well as expressions of antioxidative enzymes glutathione (GSH) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) on the gene level using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method. The results demonstrated that 5-HMF could be developed as a novel marine natural antioxidant or potential precursor for practical applications in the food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical fields.

• ALGAE
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.145-151
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• 2002

Three species of marine algae, two browns and one red were newly reported from the eastern and the southern coast of Korea including Cheju Island. their vegetative and reproductive structures were described. Colpomenia phaeodactyla Wynne et J.N. Norris (Scytosiphonaceae, Phaeophyceae) commonly occured in middle to lower intertidal zone of southern coast. Plants consisted of clusters of elongated and hollow sacs arising from an adherent colpomenioid base. Plurilocular sporangia were multiseriate, forming dense, extensive sori over the erect sacs. Cutleria adspersa (Mertens ex Roth) De Notaris (Cutleriaceae, Phaeophyceae) was collected from subtidal region of Cheju Island. It was characterized by broadly fan-shaped habits with golden brown colour and hair-fringed margines, attached by rhizoids along undersurface. Halarachnion latissimum Okamura (Furcellariaceae, Rhodophyceae) was found adrift from several areas of southern coast. Plants were brownish red, filmy and dlicate, membranaceous roundish fronds. Cystocarps were globular and formed under the cortical layer. Tetrasporangia were oblong and zonately divided.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.42 no.6
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• pp.664-673
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• 2009

An intertidal marine benthic algal vegetation and vertical distribution at Youngil Bay, the eastern coast of Korea was investigated to clarify the community structure and vertical distribution by quadrat method from February 2003 to January 2009. Marine algae identified from the area were 152 species; 25 green, 38 brown and 89 red algae. The dominant species were Ulva spp., Ulva pertusa, Chaetomorpha moniligera, Undaria pinnatifida, Sargassum horneri, S. miyabei, S. thunbergii, Gelidium amansii, Corallina pilulifera, Grateloupia elliptica, G. filicina, Prionitis cornea, Chondrus ocellatus, Chondracanthus intermedia, Acrosorium polyneurum, Chondria crassicaulis, Polysiphonia morrowii and Symphyocladia latiuscula at study sites. The vertical distribution of intertidal marine algae was divided into three distinct zones. They were characterized by Porphyra spp. and Ulva spp. at the upper, Ulva spp. and Ulva pertusa at the middle, and Sargassum spp., Gelidium amansii, Grateloupia spp., Chondrus ocellatus and Chondria crassicaulis at the lower zones, respectively. Functional form group analysis showed that coarsely branched forms comprised 44.7% of the algal community, whereas thick leathery forms, sheet forms and filamentous forms comprised 6.6-25.7%. R/P, C/P and (R+C)/P values were 2.34, 0.66 and 3.00, respectively.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.24 no.10
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• pp.1285-1307
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• 2015

We constructed marine forest to restore barren grounds which are expanding in the east coast of Korea using 2 methods of (1)seedlings transplantation method and (2)underwater floating ropes method. We transplanted 3 macroalgae species, Ecklonia cava, Undaria pinnatifida, and Saccharina. japonica to construct marine forest. Blade length of Undaria pinnatifida on underwater floating ropes was $56.70{\pm}8.69mm$ in April and grew $68.75{\pm}22.30mm$ in May and $70.75{\pm}14.36mm$ in July. Blade length of S. japonica was shown 97.95-143.00mm in April to June. Blade length of Ecklonia cava was $30.50{\pm}1.91mm$ in May, $41.55{\pm}1.84mm$ in August, $45.30{\pm}2.57mm$ in November, 2009 and $45.30{\pm}1.99mm$ in February, 2010. The survey on Dangsa area, Ulsan-city in January, 2009 found a total number of 15 algal species(1 brown algae, 14 red algae species) with the highest variety at 5m depth of A station and the lowest at 8m depth of A and B stations. The March survey showed a total of 24 species (1 green algae, 1 brown algae, 22 red algae species) with the highest variety of 11 at depths of 3m and 5m of B station and the lowest of 6 at 10m of B station. In May, total biomass was 3,755.4g (green algae 1.2g, brown algae 199.0g, red algae 3,555.2g). From January, 2009, we found that E. cava was dominant at the depths of 3m and 5m of A and B stations while Peyssonnelia capensis was dominant at the depth of 8m of A station. The 8m depth of B station was dominated by Acrosorium polyneurum. In May, Grateloupia lanceolata was dominant at 8m depth of A station while other depths were dominated by Phycodrys fimbriata. In June, the dominant species were G. lanceolata at the 3m depth, E. cava at the 5m and P. fimbriata at the depths of 8m and 10m of A station. Under B station, G. lanceolata was dominant at the depths of 3m and 5m while P. fimbriata was dominant at the depths of 8m and 10m.

• Journal of Marine Bioscience and Biotechnology
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.8-14
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• 2011

Although marine living organism contains a numerious number of compounds, it is difficult to collect these compounds in a large scale for medicinal application. However, in recent years, several bioactive compounds isolated from marine macroalgae have been proved to be able to provide potential sources for development of medicinal products because they can be obtained in large amount from marine. A number of studies have reported a variety of effects of marine macroalgae but a few anti-inflammatory activity of marine macroalgae have recently been published. Herein, we reviewed novel anti-inflammatory compounds recently isolated from marine brown algae, green algae and red algae. From this survey, in particular, some compounds contained in edible macroalgae exert anti-inflammatory effects with inhibition on cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), inducible nitric oxide synthase(iNOS) and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) activity regulated by nuclear factor-kappa B transcription factor that play a key role in cancer as well as inflammation, demonstrating to be able to potentially apply to development of anti-inflammatory agent for chemoprevention of cancer. Furthermore, some macroalgae and their compounds with both excellent anti-inflammatory activity and very low toxicity can select a potential candidates capable of preventing or treating several chronic inflammation such as colitis, hepatitis and gastritis, leading to cancer.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.21 no.11
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• pp.1501-1510
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• 2011

In recent years novel potential pharmocological candidates have been looked for in animal, seaweed, sponge, fungi and marine bacteria resources. In this study, matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) that play an important role in metastasis, arthritis, chronic inflammation and wrinkle formation were used as target enzymes to screen therapeutic agents. The inhibitory effects of several marine algae including green algae (5 species), red algae (18 species) and brown algae (4 species) methanolic extracts on MMPs were investigated in human dermal fibroblasts and human fibrosarcoma cell line (HT1080 cells) using gelatin zymography. In human dermal fibroblasts, the inhibition of MMP-2 was observed in Laurencia okamurae, Polysiphonia japonica, Grateloupia lanceolate and Sinkoraena lancifolia of red algae. In contrast, MMP-2 activation was enhanced in Enteromorpha compressa and E. linza of green algae, and Peltaronia bighamiae and Sargassum thunbergii of brown algae. In human fibrosarcoma cells, MMP-9 activation was decreased in the presence of S. thunbergii of brown algae, Polysiphonia japonica in red algae and E. compressa and E. linza of green algae. The interesting finding is that E. compressa and E. linza of green algae, and S. thunbergii of brown algae exhibited a positive effect on MMP-2 in normal cells, but a negative effect on MMP-9 in cancer cell lines. These results suggest that E. compressa and E. linza of green algae, and S. thunbergii of brown algae contain potential therapeutic ingredients for cancer treatment.

• Journal of Plant Biology
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.61-67
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• 1980

As a part of the environmental base line survey of the Onsan Industrial Base, Korea, marine algal communities were investigated using the quadrat method in Onsan-myon on the east coast of Korea from March to December of 1978. It was learned that the representative dominat species along the coast in the Onsan area throughout the year are Ulva pertusa, Pachymeniopsis elliptica, and Sargassum thunbergii. Both the number of algal species occurring in the quadrat (50$\times$50cm) and the total coverage were higher in March and September than in June and December. A total of 94 species (1 blue-green, 16 green, 25 brown, and 52 red algae) of marine algae was identified in this study.

• ALGAE
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.305-311
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• 2007

The summer algal flora and community of 15 uninhabited islands in Dochodo, southwestern coast of Korea, were investigated from 9 June to 16 September 2007. A total 53 species (10 green, 14 brown and 29 red algae) of marine algae were identified. Among 15 uninhabited islands, the number of species observed was the highest as 33 species at Jeongdo and Gyeongchido the least as 24 species at Hugdo and Mido. The dominant species were Enteromorpha compressa, Ishige okamurae, Gloiopeltis furcata, Ulva pertusa and Sargassum thunbergii. The algal zonation of intertidal zone was figured out by Gloiopeltis furcata, Caulacanthus okamurae – Ulva pertusa, Sargassum thungergii – Gelidium amansii, Sargassum horneri from upper to lower zone. The flora investigated could be classified into six functional groups such as coarsely branched form (39.6%), filamentous form (25.8%), sheet form (14.1%), thick leathery form (9.9%), jointed calcarious form (5.6%) and crustose form algae (4.9%).

• Mycobiology
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• v.51 no.6
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• pp.401-409
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• 2023

Nigrospora (Xylariales, Apiosporaceae) consists of species of terrestrial plant endophytes and pathogens. Nigrospora has also been reported in marine environments such as mangroves, sea fans, and macroalgae. However, limited research has been conducted on Nigrospora associated with macroalgae. Here, we isolated Nigrospora species from three types of algae (brown, green, and red algae) from Korean islands (Chuja, Jeju, and Ulleung) based on phylogenetic analyses of multigenetic markers: the internal transcribed spacers (ITS), beta-tubulin (BenA), and translation elongation factor 1 (TEF1-α). A total of 17 Nigrospora strains were isolated from macroalgae and identified as nine distinct species. The majority of Nigrospora species (seven) were found on brown algae, followed by red algae (three), and then green algae (two). To our understanding, this study represents the first account of N. cooperae, N. covidalis, N. guilinensis, N. lacticolonia, N. osmanthi, N. pyriformis, and N. rubi occurring in marine environments. Additionally, this study provides the first report of the occurrence of N. cooperae, N. covidalis, N. guilinensis, N. lacticolonia, and N. osmanthi in South Korea. This study will provide valuable insights for future research exploring the functions of fungi in macroalgal communities.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.383-389
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• 2021

The Erythropeltidales are a common group of small, mostly epiphytic, marine red algae. However, they are little known in Korea. Many of the described species of Erythropeltidales differ subtly in morphology, and often the morphological differences are due to the substrate or environmental changes. Integration of molecular data with standardized culture conditions has been recommended to account for these algae. A Madagascaria species was first collected from the western coast of Korea and was identified as Madagascaria erythrocladioides based on the morphological and molecular characteristics. Morphological characteristics conformed well with its original description, and the phylogenetic analysis based on rbcL sequence showed Korean M. erythrocladioides nests in the same clade with the original species described in Japan with a genetic distance of 0.0-0.1%. This species was isolated from a red alga, Pterocladiella capillacea, in laboratory culture. The thallus ontogeny and host preference were examined by a co-culture with 13 different species of algae. Results showed a relatively broad host preference in mono-spore attachment and epiphyte development of Madagascaria erythrocladioides. Mono-spores of M. erythrocladioides attached to most of the red algal hosts' surfaces but no crustose thalli developed on some of the algal hosts even after one month of co-culture.