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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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Sulfated polysaccharides presenting in the cell wall of seaweeds and aquatic plants exhibit a diverse range of biological functions mainly due to their particular structural and molecular properties. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the inhibition of oxidation reactions and activities of digestive enzymes including α-amylase and α-glucosidase by sulfated polysaccharides from aquatic plant Myriophyllum spicatum. After the removal of pigments and low molecular weight compounds, polysaccharides were extracted by distilled water at 60°C for 2 hours. Polysaccharide purification using DEAE Sepharose FF led to production of two fractions including F1 and F2. Obtained polysaccharides were considerably capable of scavenging DPPH free radicals (20.62-64.81%) and reducing Fe³⁺ ions (0.24-0.50 Abs) with F1 fraction exhibiting the greatest activity. Polysaccharides inhibitions against α-amylase activity were greatly different (22.50-63.20%) with the lowest IC₅₀ being 1.31 mg/mL for F2 fraction. α-glucosidase activity was reduced to various levels (1.30-89.5%) and the lowest IC₅₀ of 10.0 mg/mL was observed for crude polysaccharide. Overall, these findings indicated that sulfated polysaccharides from M. spicatum L. possess promising antioxidant, α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibition potentials depending on their chemical and molecular structure and thus could be considered as antioxidant and anti-diabetic agents.