Hypoglycemic and Laxative Activities of Crude Ethanolic Extracts of Brown Seaweed Sargassum Oligocystum

Abstract

The quest for the sources of effective yet affordable bioactive compounds for drug development has been intensely done even nowadays. Experts in the field made many attempts by using various plant extracts. Aquatic organisms like seaweeds became their least priority; although there are studies conducted by using several species of algae. Hence, this study determined the anti-spasmodic, hypoglycemic and laxative activities of crude ethanolic extracts of Sargassum oligosystum (CEESO). Extraction was done using the standard laboratory protocols. Two pharmacological assays (antispasmodic and fasting blood sugar) were performed by following the established laboratory procedures. The first one tested if the extract showed anti-spasmolytic or laxative activity. The second one detected the ability of the extract to decrease fasting blood sugar level. Mice toxicity test was done to determine the lethal dose of the extract. Findings revealed that CEESO possessed significant anti-diabetic and laxative properties while it failed to demonstrate significant antispasmodic activity. The mice toxicity assay showed that the extract was not toxic to the mice even at the highest dose (1000 ppm) tested. These activities can be associated to the bioactive compounds present in the algal material, which were observed by the previous reports.  Seaweed S. oligocystum, therefore, can be a potential source of metabolites for laxative and anti-diabetic drug development. Further investigation should be done on isolation, purification, structure elucidation, and identification of the compounds responsible for laxative and anti-diabetic activities of S. oligocystum.

Keywords: Anti-spasmodic, ethanolic extracts, hypoglycemic, laxative, Sargassum oligosystum