Vol. 1, Issue 1, Part A (2019)

Molecules made from algae show different bioactivities, like immunomodulation, antibacterial, anticancer and are well documented for their use in an ethno pharmacological context. This study was designed to explore the in vitro antioxidant and anti-proliferative activity of chloroform extract of Gracilaria dendroides (CEGD) algae extract obtained from Red sea at Jeddah. Gracilaria dendroides (GD), was washed by distilled water to remove salts and stored at -20°C until extraction. The GSH level we found dose-dependent increase in GSH levels in MCF7 cells following exposure to CEGD after 72 hr, indicating the activity as antioxidant. GSH is an important sulfur-containing antioxidant, which maintains the intracellular redox status by efficiently regulating the cellular defenses protecting against the development of oxidative stress by directly scavenging ROS. It was concluded that the application of CEGD to MCF7 breast cancer cells has significantly retarded the antioxidative potential and caused loss of membrane integrity of cancer cells which resulted in cell death through apoptosis. Therefore, could be used for further anticancer therapy.