As part of our continuing research on seaweeds, we have screened the crude extracts of 23 red marine algae collected from England and Ireland. The clinically important blood-stage life forms of Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense, T. cruzi, Leishmania donovani and Mycobacterium tuberculosis were used as test organisms in the in vitro assays. The selectivity of the extracts was determined by using mammalian skeletal myoblast (L6) cells. All algal extracts showed activity against T. brucei rhodesiense, with Corallina officinalis and Ceramium virgatum being the most potent (IC(50) values 4.8 and 5.4 microg/ml), whilst none of the algal extracts inhibited the growth of T. cruzi. Except for Porphyra leucosticta, extracts from all seaweeds also showed leishmanicidal activity with IC(50) values ranging from 16.5 to 85.6 microg/ml. Only the crude extract of Calliblepharis jubata showed some weak activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MIC value 256 microg/ml), while the others were inactive at this concentration. Corallina officinalis was the only seaweed that displayed some marginal cytotoxicity (IC(50) value 88.6 microg/ml), and all remaining extracts were non-toxic towards L6 cells at 90 microg/ml concentration. To our knowledge, this is the first study reporting antiprotozoal and antimycobacterial activity of British and Irish red algae.
Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutical Science
3
4%
Chemical Engineering
2
3%
Medicine and Dentistry
2
3%
Other
5
7%
Unknown
21
30%
Attention Score in Context
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 1. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 19 April 2013.
All research outputs
#22,268,446
of 24,851,605 outputs
Outputs from Phytotherapy Research
#3,001
of 3,473 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#95,527
of 99,988 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Phytotherapy Research
#21
of 21 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 24,851,605 research outputs across all sources so far. This one is in the 1st percentile – i.e., 1% of other outputs scored the same or lower than it.
So far Altmetric has tracked 3,473 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a lot more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 12.4. This one is in the 1st percentile – i.e., 1% of its peers scored the same or lower than it.
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We're also able to compare this research output to 21 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one is in the 1st percentile – i.e., 1% of its contemporaries scored the same or lower than it.
