Abstract

Sulfated polysaccharides (SPs) from green seaweed species have been scarcely studied for the development of novel pharmaceutical, cosmetic or nutraceutical products. The present study aimed to investigate the physico-chemical characteristics of the sulfated polysaccharidic fractions isolated from Cladophora vagabunda green seaweed and to evaluate their anti-aging properties in vitro. SPF1 and SPF2 fractions were separated from the purified polysaccharidic extract by size exclusion chromatography. The content of neutral carbohydrates, uronic acids and sulfate was assessed, while Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) analysis confirmed the presence of a functional group characteristic for sulfated polysaccharides. Capillary zone electrophoresis indicated the monosaccharides profile and the presence of bioactive fucose and uronic acids. The two fractions differed in sulfate content (22.59% and 29.44%). SF2 showed stronger collagenase inhibition (95.69%), whereas SF1 exhibited greater elastase inhibition (84.2%) in comparison with EGCG. Both fractions exhibited antioxidant, anti-collagenase and anti-elastase activities and also a good biocompatibility and capacity to modulate the cell cycle progression in human dermal fibroblast culture. They showed anti-inflammatory potential by inhibition of interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and nitric oxide (NO) production in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-inflamed THP-1-derived macrophages. Also, the level of matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1) and MMP-9 secretion was reduced after treatment with C. vagabunda fractions with MMP-1 reduced by ~95% in both fractions and MMP-9 reduced by ~79% in SF2 compared with the control. Both fractions stimulated the growth of probiotic cultures Lactobacillus acidophilus and L. rhamnosus. All these results demonstrated, for the first time, the anti-aging potential of sulfated polysaccharides isolated from C. vagabunda green seaweed.

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