Isolation, purification, and antioxidant activities of degraded polysaccharides from Enteromorpha prolifera

In the present study, purification and characterization of enzymatic hydrolysates of polysaccharide from Enteromorpha prolifera (HPE) are described. HPE was sequentially purified by DEAE Cellulose-52 chromatography and Sephadex G-100 chromatography to afford three fractions, namely, PHPE1, PHPE2, and PHPE3. Molecular weights of these three fractions were measured to be 103, 45.4, and 9.8   kDa, respectively, using high performance gel permeation chromatography (HPGPC). The three fractions were evaluated for their antioxidant activities by determining their ability to scavenge 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), hydroxyl, and superoxide anion radicals. PHPE2 was found to possess the strongest scavenging ability. GC–MS analysis indicates that PHPE2 is mainly composed of mannose , xylose , and glucose.