Abstract
Introduction Sargassum fusiform is considered a traditional Chinese medicinal herb to treat many diseases, Sargassum fusiform polysaccharides (SFPS) were found to display many important biological activities. The purpose of this study was to investigate the in vitro antioxidant activity of crude polysaccharide from Sargassum fusiforme and its protective effect against H 2 O 2 -induced injury in LO2 cells. Methods SFPS was extracted from Sargassum fusiforme using water extraction and alcohol precipitation. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used to measure its monosaccharide composition. The in vitro antioxidant activity of SFPS was evaluated using scavenging 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and hydroxyl radical assays. Moreover, its hepatoprotective activity was examined by establishing H 2 O 2 -induced LO2 cells injury model. Results and discussion The results showed that the SFPS was composed of Glc, Ara, Fuc, Gal, Man, Rha and Xyl. Meanwhile, SFPS exhibited strong antioxidant activity and potential hepatoprotective effect. Further studies found that SFPS could alleviate LO2 cells injury induced by H 2 O 2 via decreasing malondialdehyde (MDA) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels, increasing superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activities and inhibiting intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. These results revealed that SFPS had the ability to protect the liver cells from H 2 O 2 -induced liver injury through its antioxidant activity.