Ethanol extraction and solvent partitioning of antioxidant compounds from brown seaweed Sargassum angustifolium

The extraction of hydrocolloids from seaweeds is associated with production of secondary metabolites during pretreatment step. In this study, the antioxidant properties were evaluated for secondary metabolites from brown seaweed S. angustifolium. The crude extract obtained by 80% ethanol for four hours and then partitioned using hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate and water. The extraction yield was found to be 4% for crude extract and varied between 2.8-43% for fractions. The evaluation of antioxidant properties revealed a successful solvent fractionation in portioning antioxidant compounds. Among various fractions, ethyl acetate exhibited the highest activity in DPPH radical scavenging (75.78%), ABTS radical scavenging (88.92%), reducing power (67.54%) and total antioxidant (0.34 Abs) capacities. The highest amount of phenolic contents was found in ethyl acetate fraction (277.86 mg/ TA in extract) while the lowest amount was in aqueous fraction (21.36 mg/ TA in extract). The highest correlation (R2 = 0.88) was observed between total phenolic content and total antioxidant activity. Overall, the results of current study show that ethanol extract of S. angustifolium contains major bioactive compounds suggesting its potential application in food industry as a natural antioxidant.