Studies on extraction procedure and antioxidative activity of phlorotannins fromSargassum kjellmanianum

Known only in phaeophyceae, phlorotannins (brown algal polyphenols) are natural products with potential uses in pharmacology. This study yielded an extraction procedure to obtain high purity, high molecular weight phlorotannins fromSargassum kjellmanianum and revealed the characteristics of their infrared and flourescence spectra. The antioxidative activity of phlorotannins, which was about 2.6 times as strong as that of 0.02% BHT (tert-butyl-4-hydroxytoluene), showed potential for preventing oil rancidification. Contribution No. 2918 from the Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. The project was supported by The State Ninth-five Key Program of China. (No. 96-916-04-01).