Brown Alga Metabolites – Inhibitors of Marine Organism Fucoidan Hydrolases

Fucoidan hydrolase inhibitors were discovered for the first time. Metabolites in the aqueous EtOH extract of Fucus evanescens inhibited specifically the activity of enzymes involved in catabolism of brown-alga polysaccharides, i.e., fucoidanases (recombinant FFA from the marine bacterium Formosa algae KMM 3553T and PPF from the marine mollusk Patinopecten yessoensis) and glycosidases (recombinant α-L-fucosidase FucFa from F. algae and β-D-glucosidase G-II from the marine mollusk Littorina sitkana). The purified fucophlorethol fraction isolated from this extract inhibited recombinant fucoidanase FFA in the concentration range 10–50 μg/mL.