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In the present study, the structural and antioxidant properties of fucoidan extracted from macroalgae (Sargassum and Padina) from the Persian Gulf coast were evaluated. The fucoidan was extracted by ethanol and hot water and after calculating the extraction yield, DPPH radical scavenging activity, ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and its monosaccharides by HPLC method were examined. The yield of fucoidan in Sargassum (4.2 ± 0.00%) was higher than Padina (2.98 ± 0.28%) (P < 0.05). The IC50 of DPPH free radical scavenging in fucoidan extracted from Sargassum and Padina were 0.1 and 0.14 mg/ ml, respectively, which were higher than BHT as a commercial antioxidant (P < 0.05). The rate of FRAP in both samples increased with an increase in the concentration of fucoidan. The SEM results showed that fucoidan from both macroalgae had strong structural cohesion and irregular surfaces, but Padina had more surface protrusions. The glucose, mannose and xylose sugars in different amounts were detected by the HPLC method, in which the amount of glucose and xylose sugars were higher in the fucoidan derived-Sargassum (P < 0.05). According to the results of the present study, the fucoidan extracted from the Sargassum and Padina can be a good alternative to an industrial antioxidant in food

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The entomopathogenic-fungus-life cycle is associated with the synthesis and secretion of a number of toxic metabolites, including extracellular enzymes and the low-molecular weight compound (toxin). The potential for a successful pathogen relies on the ability to overcome the various host-defence systems. Interaction between the fungus, Tolypocla-dium (Deuteromycetes), its secondary metabolite, and its host cellular defence were inves-tigated using in vivo and in vitro studies. In vitro studies showed that toxins (efrapeptins) inhibit phagocytic activity of Galleria mellonella (Lep: Pyralidae) haemocytes. The effect of efrapeptins on phagocytosis was in a dose-dependent manner i.e. the amount of phago-cytosis in a treated cell-culture with 0, 3, and 30 g efrapeptins per well was about 12, 7.5, and 4.5 %, respectively (P<0.05). In vivo studies showed that injection of insects with 0, 0.25, and 0.025 g toxin rendered percentages of phagocytosis of 13, 11.5, and 7.2, respec-tively (P<0.05). There was no significant reduction in the total haemocyte count (THC) when larvae were injected with Tolypocladium cylindrosporum spores until 24 hours fol-lowing injection. However, THC was suppressed at 48 hours post-treatment of larvae with spores. Considering that toxin suppresses phagocytosis, nodule formation, but not THC, this study suggests that efrapeptins may interfere with the ligand-receptor interactions that are likely to occur in the plasma membrane of specific haemocytes.

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Pomegranate, a small tree with potential human health benefits, is grown mainly in Iran, India and USA as well as in most Near and Far East countries. It has been used extensively in folk medicine for a number of therapeutic purposes. In the present study, the ferric reducing/antioxidant power assay (FRAP) was employed and the FRAP value of the seed fraction of six different cultivars of pomegranate in Iran was determined in an attempt to compare their differing antioxidant acitivity. The antioxidant activity of seed fraction of six different cultivars of pomegranate in water extracts showed that the Sour white peel cultivar has the highest FRAP value (3.450.85 M) and the Agha Mohamad Ali cultivar has the lowest value (2.760.76 M); ethanolic extract of the seeds showed that Sour white peel and Black peel cultivars have the highest (3.881.31 M) and lowest (1.620.47 M) antioxidant activity, respectively. Results indicated that the extracts obtained from pomegranate seeds using various solvents exhibited various degrees of antioxidant activity. Further, it was cleared that Sour white peel had the highest potent antioxidant activity among different pomegranate seed cultivars and, so might be useful for its health benefits.

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Zebrafish is considered as a useful laboratory model due to its diverse characteristics, including self-renewal. The embryo of this fish has unique characteristics in the early stages of development, and its effects were observed in various studies. The differentiating factors present in stem cells isolated from zebrafish embryos are effective in improving the functional status of patients, and exposure to zebrafish embryo extracts in the early stages of development may increase the expression of multipotent stem cells and exert positive effects.  In this study, we investigated the antioxidant properties of the zebrafish embryo extract in different embryonic stages of development.The Zebrafish egg extract was prepared in different embryonic stages. Its effect in concentrations of 0.5, 1, 1.5 and 2 mg/ml on DPPH free radical scavenging activity, ABTS radical inhibitory activity and iron reducing power (FRAP) were investigated. The studied groups included protein extracts in morula, blastula and gastrula stages. According to the obtained results, the amount of protein varied in different embryonic stages and the amount of protein increased with the progress of fetal growth and the amount of fat decreased.The protein extract in the gastrula stage showed the highest level of DPPH inhibition and iron ion reduction at a concentration of 2 mg/ml compared to the morula and blastula groups (P<0.05). Also, the protein extract in the embryonic stage of blastula had the highest inhibition of ABTS at a concentration of 2 mg/ml compared to other groups (P<0.05).

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