Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1
Egypt, National Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries, Marine Environment, Taxonomy and Biodiversity of Aquatic Biota
2
Botany and Microbiology Department, Faculty of Science, Tanta University, Tanta 31527, Egypt
3
Botany Department, Faculty of Science, Tanta University
10.21608/ejabf.2025.398422.6112
Abstract
This study investigated the phytochemical composition of 10 different species of marine macroalgae collected from the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, Egypt. The collected species taxonomically belong to three major groups: Ochrophyta (3 species), Rhodophyta (5 species), and Chlorophyta (2 species). Phytochemical extraction of each seaweed, using water, methanol, ethanol and acetone, was carried out. Qualitative and quantitative analyses were conducted to detect phenolics, flavonoids, tannins, steroids, terpenoids, and saponins. Among the studied species, Sargassum cinereum exhibited the highest phytochemical yield, particularly in ethanolic extracts, while Rhodophyta species generally showed lower phytochemical contents. Quantitative analyses revealed significant variation in total phenolic, flavonoid, and tannin contents depending on the algal species and extraction solvent. Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) profiling identified numerous bioactive compounds, with palmitic acid and its methyl ester, and stearic acid methyl ester are being the predominant fatty acids. The findings highlight the substantial potential of Egyptian coastal seaweeds as a sustainable source of biologically active compounds for pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, and environmental applications. This work emphasizes the need to explore marine algal resources in Egypt for novel bioactive compounds and suggests that the solvent type significantly influences the extraction efficiency of different phytochemicals.
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