This review focuses on recent advances in antiviral research on the sulfated polysaccharides from seaweeds, including carrageenan, galactan, fucoidan, alginate, ulvan, p-KG03, naviculan, and calcium spirulan. In addition, sulfated polysaccharides can also improve the body’s immunity. In particular, sulfated polysaccharides derived from seaweeds, considered a potential source of bioactive compounds for drug development, have shown antiviral activity against a broad spectrum of viruses, mainly including common DNA viruses and RNA viruses. This is very promising in the pharmaceutical industry. Seaweeds have a wide range of sources, huge output, and high economic benefits.

A variety of biological activities from marine natural products have gradually attracted the attention of people. In recent years, various viral diseases have suddenly erupted, resulting in widespread infection and death. The points represent the mean of a quadruplicate experiment, the standard deviation is indicated. Supernatants were harvested, pooled, and subsequently used to determine the TCID50/ml according to the method of Reed and Muench. (C)-(F) MDCK cells were infected with H1N1 A/PR/8/34 as before and further kept in the presence of iota-carrageenan (circles) or the control polymer CMC (squares) at indicated concentrations and 24 (C), 48 (D), 72 (E), and 96 hours (F) post infection, respectively. Values obtained from mock-infected cells were set to 100%, and the values of cells infected in the absence of polymer were set to 0% (y-axis). Samples were measured fluorometrically by monitoring the increase in fluorescence at a wavelength of 590 nm using an excitation wavelength of 544 nm. Cell proliferation was determined with a Resazurin-based in vitro toxicology assay. Plates were incubated at 37 u C until cells in the control (no polymer added) showed. MDCK cells grown in 96- well plates were infected with H1N1 A/PR/8/34 virus (A) and H3N2 A/Aichi/2/68 virus (B) (0.01 PFU/cell) in the presence of carrageenans (iota- carrageenan black diamonds, kappa-carrageenan black squares) at concentrations as indicated on the x-axis in m g/ml.

Iota-carrageenan promotes cell viability and reduces viral titer of influenza A-infected MDCK cells.

Iota carrageenan