Nutraceutical Potential of Five Mexican Brown Seaweeds.

In search of pharmaceutically active products to control type 2 diabetes, five brown seaweeds (, , , , and ) from the Northwest Mexican Pacific coast were investigated. Proximate composition and total polyphenol content (TPC) as phloroglucinol equivalents (PGE) were determined for the five seaweed powders and their respective hydroethanolic (1 : 1) extracts. Extracts were screened for their radical scavenging activity (DPPH and ORAC) and glycosidase inhibitory activity. HPLC-DAD, HPLC-MS-TOF, and ATR-FT-IR methodologies were used to identify the most abundant phlorotannins and sulfated polysaccharides in the extracts. Hydroethanolic extracts contained minerals (17 to 59% of the dry matter), proteins (4 to 9%), ethanol-insoluble polysaccharides (5.4 to 53%), nitrogen-free extract (NFE) (24.4 to 70.1%), lipids (5 to 12%), and TPC (2.6 to 47.7 g PGE per 100 g dry extract). and dry extracts presented the lowest ash content (26 and 17%, respectively) and had some of the highest phenolic (47.7 and 15.2 g PGE per 100 g extract), NFE (57.3 and 70.1%), and soluble polysaccharide (19.7 and 53%) contents. and extracts had the highest antioxidant activity (IC DPPH 1.7 and 3.7 mg mL; ORAC 0.817 and 0.801 mmol Trolox equivalent/g extract) and the highest -amylase and -glucosidase inhibitory capacities (IC 940 and 1152 g mL against -amylase and 194 and 647 g mL against -glucosidase). The most abundant phlorotannins identified in the extracts were phloretol, fucophloroethol, and two- and three-phloroglucinol unit (PGU) phlorotannins. Laminarin, fucoidan, and alginate were among the sulfated polysaccharides identified in the extracts. The bioactivities of and extracts were mainly related with their contents of three PGU phlorotannins and sulfated polysaccharides (e.g., fucoidan, laminarin, and alginate). These results suggest and are potential candidates for food products and nutraceutical and pharmaceutical preparations, and as additives for diabetes management.