Extraction of brown alga Sargassum angustifolium and evaluation of its phlorotannin compounds and antioxidant properties

Brown algae are a valuable source of natural antioxidant compounds, especially Phlorotannins. In this study, the effect of solvent concentration (water / ethanol) on the the amount of Phlorotannin compounds and antioxidant properties of extracts from brown alga Sargassum angustifolium were investigated. The extraction was performed by solvent method at room temperature (28-26 °C) with ethanol/ water solvent with three ratios (30:70), (50:50) and (70:30). The amount of Phlorotannin, total phenolic content, ferric reducing antioxidant power, DPPH radical scavenging activity and total antioxidant capacity of different extracts were evaluated. The results showed that the yield of Phlorotannin extraction was dependent on the solvent concentration and with increasing polarity of the solvent, its amount increased, So its amount in ethanol/ water treatment (30:70) is significantly more than the other two treatments (P<0.05). Also, the highest amount of DPPH radical scavenging activity was obtained in ethanol/ water treatments 50:50 and 70:30 which contained less Phlorotannin. Finally, it was found that the ethanol/ water treatment 30:70 of the brown alga Sargassum angustifolium was a good choice for extracting Phlorotannin compounds as a natural bioactive compound for food and medicine purposes.