Evaluation of marine brown algae and sponges from Brazil as anticoagulant and antiplatelet products

Abstract

The ischemic disorders, in which platelet aggregation and blood coagulation are involved, represent a major cause of disability and death worldwide. The antithrombotic therapy has unsatisfactory performance and may produce side effects. So, there is a need to seek molecules with antithrombotic properties. Marine organisms produce substances with different well defined ecological functions. Moreover, some of these molecules also exhibit pharmacological properties such as antiviral, anticancer, antiophidic and anticoagulant properties. The aim of this study was to evaluate, through in vitro tests, the effect of two extracts of brown algae and ten marine sponges from Brazil on platelet aggregation and blood coagulation. Our results revealed that most of the extracts were capable of inhibiting platelet aggregation and clotting measured by plasma recalcification tests, prothrombin time, activated partial thromboplastin time, and fibrinogenolytic activity. On the other hand, five of ten species of sponges induced platelet aggregation. Thus, the marine organisms studied here may have molecules with antithrombotic properties, presenting biotechnological potential to antithrombotic therapy. Further chemical investigation should be conducted on the active species to discover useful molecules for the development of new drugs to treat clotting disorders. © 2011 by the authors.