Avaliação do efeito anticoagulante in vitro de polissacarídeos extra sulfatados da alga marinha vermelha Gracilaria intermedia

Abstract

Seaweeds of the genus Gracilaria are important sources of sulfated polysaccharides and are commonly used in the pharmaceutical, food and biotechnology industries. These molecules have desirable biological activities, such as anticoagulant effect, because they have large amounts of negative charges in their structure, which influence enzymatic factors of the blood coagulation cascade. The objective of this work was to evaluate the in vitro anticoagulant effect of extra sulphated polysaccharides of the red sea kelp Gracilaria intermedia through the classic test of Partially Activated Thromboplastin Time (APTT). The sulfated polysaccharides were obtained from the red alga Gracilaria intermedia through enzymatic extraction with papain, having an extraction yield of 40%, then were chemically modified through an extra sulfation. The contents of sugars, proteins and sulfate were evaluated through colorimetric tests. The material had a high carbohydrate content (72%), high purity, no protein contamination (0.008%) and a high sulphate content after extra sulfation (22.54%), besides prolonging the coagulation time in the APTT test after (10 μg /mL- 50 μg/mL) compared to the control coagulation time, without the presence of polysaccharides (33,5 s) and at the highest concentration (50 μg/ml), clot formation time was up to 80,11 seconds. In view of this, the extra sulfated polysaccharides obtained from Gracilaria intermedia present potential for future use as an active ingredient in the development of anticoagulant drugs.