Evaluation of physicochemical properties and inhibition ability of elastase, tyrosinase, and hyaluronidase enzymes by sulfated galactans from the red seaweed Osmundea caspica

Tabarsa, Mehdi; Nourbakhsh, Mohadeseh; You, SangGuan

doi:10.48311/jfst.2026.117202.82456

Evaluation of physicochemical properties and inhibition ability of elastase, tyrosinase, and hyaluronidase enzymes by sulfated galactans from the red seaweed Osmundea caspica

Document Type : Original Research

Authors

Mehdi Tabarsa ¹

Mohadeseh Nourbakhsh ²

SangGuan You ³

¹ Department of Seafood Processing, Faculty of Natural Products and Marine Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Noor Iran

² Department of Seafood Processing, Faculty of Natural Products and Marine Sciences, Noor, Iran

³ Department of Marine Food Science, Faculty of Life Sciences, Gangneung-Wonju National University, Gangneung, South Korea

10.48311/jfst.2026.117202.82456

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the physicochemical properties and inhibitory activity of sulfated galactans extracted from the red seaweed Osmundea caspica against elastase, tyrosinase, and hyaluronidase enzymes. Crude polysaccharide was extracted using hot water at 60°C and precipitated with 70% ethanol. Acid hydrolysis with HCl at 0.01 M and 0.05 M concentrations was used to produce lower molecular weight fractions. Physicochemical properties including apparent viscosity, water and oil holding capacity (for sunflower, corn, and canola oils), and emulsifying activity were evaluated. Enzyme inhibitory activities were measured at concentrations of 2, 5 and 10 mg/mL. Results showed that viscosity decreased with increasing temperature. The crude sample (OCP) exhibited water holding capacity of 95.9% and oil holding capacity of 4.1 g/g for canola oil. Its emulsifying activity with sunflower oil reached 75.9%. In enzymatic assays, the crude sample showed the highest inhibition against hyaluronidase (18.9%) and elastase (40.3%). In contrast, the 0.05 M hydrolysate demonstrated the strongest tyrosinase inhibition (33.6%). These findings indicate that molecular structure directly influences the bioactivity of galactans, and these compounds show significant potential for use in anti-aging formulations.

Keywords

Sulfated galactans

Red seaweed

Enzyme inhibition

Skin aging

Physicochemical properties

Subjects