WILLIAMAVERYHUDSON

BIOPROTECTIVE PROPERTIES OF SEAWEEDS FROM THE SOUTH

COASTAL AREA OF TAMIL NADU, INDIA
2 November 2008

Devi KP, Suganthy N, Kesika P, Pandian SK. Bioprotective properties of seaweeds: in vitro
evaluation of antioxidant activity and antimicrobial activity against food borne bacteria in relation
to polyphenolic content. BMC Complement Altern Med. 2008 Jul 10;8:38. PMID: 18613983

With a view to developing safer food preservatives, researchers in Tamil Nadu have elucidated, for the first
time, the antioxidant properties of ten edible seaweeds:

Gelidiella acerosa (Rhodophyta)

Turbinaria conoides (Phaeophyta)

Padina gymnospora (Phaeophyta)

Chondrococcus hornemanni (Rhodophyta)

Hypnea pannosa (Rhodophyta)

Dictyota dichotoma (Phaeophyta)

Jania rubens (Rhodophyta)

Sargassum wightii (Phaeophyta)

Haligra sps.

Gracilaria edulis (Rhodophyta)

The authors turned to the waters of the Gulf of Mannar Marine Biosphere Preserve for their study, which could
be of signal scientific and commercial importance. From the Background:

"Refrigerated, ready-to-eat products, especially dairy foods, have become increasingly popular in recent years
because of their convenience. Many pathogenic organisms spoil such foods, reducing their shelf life and often
leading to food poisoning. It has been estimated that as many as 30% people in industrialized countries suffer
from a food poisoning every year. In addition to microbial contamination, all packed and refrigerated food also
undergoes gradual changes during storage, due to auto oxidation which releases reactive oxygen species
(ROS) including free radicals like superoxide anion (O2-) and hydroxyl radicals (OH) and non-free radical
species like singlet oxygen (1O2) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) into the food. These ROS induce peroxidation of
lipids (polyunsaturated fatty acids) generating secondary oxidants like heptanol and hexanal, which contributes
to oxidative rancidity, deteriorating the flavor of the food. These not only cause a loss in food quality but are
also believed to be associated with carcinogenesis, mutagenesis, arthritis, diabetes, inflammation, cancer and
genotoxicity. To overcome these problems a wide range of synthetic antimicrobial agents (sodium benzoate,
calcium benzoate, sorbate) and synthetic antioxidants (butylhydroquinone, propyl gallate, butylated hydroxy

toluene (BHT), butylated hydroxy anisole (BHA), have been used as food preservatives. However, these
preservatives can cause liver damage and are suspected to be mutagenic and neurotoxic. Hence, most
consumers prefer additive-free foods or a safer approach like the utilization of more effective antioxidants and
antimicrobials of natural origin. Recently, various phytochemicals like polyphenols, which are widely distributed
in plants, have been reported to act as free radical scavengers and antimicrobial agents. Marine plants, like
seaweeds, also contain high amounts of polyphenols. For example, high concentrations of polyphenols such as
catechin, epicatechin, epigalloctechin gallate and gallic acid are reported in the seaweed Halimada
(Chlorophyceae). Since many types of seaweed have still to be investigated, we were prompted to take up this
study. The Gulf of Mannar is a Marine Biosphere Reserve situated along the east coast of India and Sri Lanka,
an area of about 10,500 sq. km which has a luxuriant growth of about 680 species of seaweed belonging to the
Rhodophyta, Pheaophyta and Chlorophyta, in both the inter-tidal and deep water regions. Seaweed constitutes
a commercially important marine renewable resource. Sargassum, Padina, Dictyota and Gracilaria sps. Are
used by common people as fertilizers, food additives and animal feed. The sulphated polysaccharides of
Sargassum act as a potent free radical scavenger and anticancer agent. Gelidella and Gracilaria sps are widely
used for the production of agar and for the treatment of gastrointestinal disorders. The methanolic extract of
brown seaweeds such as Ecklonia cava and Hizikia fusiformis exhibit potent antioxidant activity. Although
seaweeds possess wide application in food and in the pharmaceutical industry, the antioxidant and
antimicrobial activity of many types of seaweed in the South Indian coastal area are still unexplored. The main
objective of the present study is to evaluate the antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of seaweeds obtained
from the Thondi, South Coastal Area of Tamil Nadu, India."

Ciguatera
Ciguatera is a foodborne illness poisoning in humans caused by eating marine species whose
flesh is contaminated with a toxin known as ciguatoxin, which is present in many
microorganisms (particularly the micro-alga Gambierdiscus toxicus) living in tropical waters.
Like many naturally and artificially occurring toxins, ciguatoxin bioaccumulates in lowerlevel organisms, resulting in higher concentration of the toxin at higher levels of the food
chain, an example of biomagnification.[1] Predator species near the top of the food chain in
tropical waters, such as barracudas, snapper, moray eels, parrotfishes, groupers, triggerfishes
and amberjacks, are most likely to cause ciguatera poisoning, although many other species
have been found to cause occasional outbreaks of toxicity. Ciguatoxin is very heat-resistant,
so ciguatoxin-laden fish cannot be detoxified by conventional cooking.[2]

Chemical structure of the ciguatoxin-CTX1B

[edit] History

Originally, ciguatoxin was linked to poison passed to tropical fish through consumption.
However, the exact source of the toxin was unknown, and many sources were identified as
the culprit. Some of these included the manchineel fruit, cocculus berries, palolo worms,
compounds containing copper, pumice, and corallina opuntia.
[edit] Etymology

It is a generally held theory that ciguatera, as a poisonous substance, was named and
identified in Cuba, circa the early 1800s. Local folklore has identified that the etymology
stems from a story of an Englishman who caught a barracuda on the Isla de Pinos. After
consuming the barracuda, the Englishman became terribly ill. When queried about the origins
of his illness, the Englishman claimed to have caught and eaten "a fish, from the seawater".
This gave rise to the name of the ailment as ciguatera, a transliteration into Spanish of the
English word seawater.[citation needed]. A more commonly encountered explanation is that
ciguatera comes from the word 'Cigua', a cuban name for a gastropod that caused similar
symptoms. Captain Cook during his voyages in the Endeavor (1700s) when off New
Caledonia describes eating a fish 'with a large ugly head' and goes on to describe symptoms
consistent with ciguatera poisoning.
[edit] Distribution

Due to the localized nature of the ciguatoxin-producing microorganisms, ciguatera illness is

only common in tropical waters, particularly the Pacific and Caribbean, and usually is
associated with fish caught in tropical reef waters. Ciguatoxin is found in over 400 species of
reef fish, and therefore avoidance of consumption of all reef fish (any fish living in warm
tropical waters) is the only sure way to avoid exposure to the toxin. Imported fish served in
restaurants have been found to contain the toxin and to produce illness which often goes
unexplained by physicians unfamiliar with a tropical toxin and its characteristic symptoms.[3]
In addition, ciguatoxin has been found in farm-raised salmon.[4]
In 2007, ten people in St. Louis, Missouri were sickened with the disease after eating
imported fish.[5]

In February 2008, the FDA reported that several outbreaks of the disease had been traced to
fish harvested near the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary in the northern Gulf
of Mexico, near the Texas-Louisiana shoreline. The FDA advised seafood processors that
ciguatera poisoning was "reasonably likely" to occur from consuming any of several species
of fish caught as far as 50 miles (80 km) from the sanctuary.[6]
[edit] Detection methods

[edit] Modern scientific detection

Currently, multiple laboratory methods are available to detect ciguatoxins, including liquid
chromatography-mass spectrometry (LCMS), receptor binding assays (RBA), and
neuroblastoma assays (N2A).

[edit] Folk science detection

In Northern Australia, where ciguatera is a common problem, two different methods are
widely believed to be available for determining that fish harbors significant levels of
ciguatoxin. The first method is that if a piece of fish is contaminated with the toxin, flies will
not land on it. The second is that the toxin can be detected by feeding a piece of fish to a cat,
as cats are allegedly highly sensitive to ciguatoxin and will display symptoms. It is not known
whether there is any veracity to either belief and highly unlikely that either is any form of test
at all.
[edit] Symptoms

Hallmark symptoms of ciguatera include gastrointestinal and neurological effects.[7][8]

Gastrointestinal symptoms include nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea usually followed by
neurological symptoms such as headaches, muscle aches, paresthesia, numbness, ataxia, and
hallucinations.[2][8] Severe cases of ciguatera can also result in cold allodynia, which is a
burning sensation on contact with cold (commonly incorrectly referred to as reversal of
hot/cold temperature sensation).[7] Doctors are often at a loss to explain these symptoms and
ciguatera poisoning is frequently misdiagnosed as Multiple Sclerosis.[9]
Dyspareunia and other ciguatera symptoms have developed in otherwise-healthy males and
females following sexual intercourse with partners suffering ciguatera poisoning, signifying
that the toxin that produces ciguatera poisoning may be sexually transmitted.[10] As diarrhea
and facial rashes have been reported in breastfed infants of mothers with ciguatera poisoning,
it is likely that ciguatera toxins are also transferred into the breast milk.[11]
The symptoms can last from weeks to years, and in extreme cases as long as 20 years, often
leading to long term disability.[12] Most people do recover slowly over time.[13] Often patients
recover but redevelop symptoms in the future. Such relapses can be triggered by consumption
of nuts, alcohol, fish or fish-containing products, chicken or eggs, or by exposure to fumes
such as those of bleach and other chemicals. Exercise is also a possible trigger.[2]

[edit] Treatment

There is no effective treatment or antidote for ciguatera poisoning. The mainstay of treatment
is supportive care.[8] Some medications such as the use of Amitriptyline may reduce some
symptoms of ciguatera, such as fatigue and paresthesia,[14] although benefit does not occur in
every case.[15] Also used are steroids and vitamin supplements, but these merely support the
body's recovery rather than directly reducing the toxic effects.
Previously mannitol was used for poisoning after one study reported the reversal of
symptoms following its use.[8][16] Followup studies in animals[17] and case reports in humans[18]
also found benefit from mannitol. However, a randomized, controlled, double-blind clinical
trial of mannitol for ciguatera poisoning did not find any difference between mannitol and
normal saline,[19] and based on this result mannitol is no longer recommended.[7]
There are a number of antiquated Caribbean naturopathic and ritualistic treatments, most of
which originated in Cuba and nearby islands. The most common old-time remedy involves
bed rest subsequent to a Guanabana juice enema. Other folk treatments range from directly
porting and bleeding the gastrointestinal tract to "cleansing" the diseased with a dove during a
Santeria ritual. The efficacy of these treatments has never been studied or substantiated;
nevertheless they are purportedly still used to this day.