Marine polysaccharides from green seaweeds belonging to the class Ulvophyceae mitigate cyclophosphamide-induced immunosuppression: an in vivo study

Shilpa Kamalakar Pai^{1

2}, Akkarapaka Neelima³, Kajal Chakraborty¹, Lokanatha Valluru³, Shubhajit Dhara^{1

4}

Affiliations

¹ Marine Biotechnology, Fish Nutrition and Health Division, ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Ernakulam North P.O., P.B. No. 1603, Cochin, 682018 Kerala India.
² Department of Applied Chemistry, Cochin University of Science and Technology, South Kalamassery, Cochin, Kerala India.
³ Department of Biotechnology, Dravidian University, Kuppam, 517426 Andhra Pradesh India.
⁴ Department of Chemistry, Mangalore University, Mangalagangothri, 574199 Karnataka India.

PMID: 40292248
PMCID: PMC12018667 (available on 2026-05-01)
DOI: 10.1007/s13205-025-04307-4

Marine polysaccharides from green seaweeds belonging to the class Ulvophyceae mitigate cyclophosphamide-induced immunosuppression: an in vivo study

Shilpa Kamalakar Pai et al. 3 Biotech. 2025 May.

. 2025 May;15(5):140.

doi: 10.1007/s13205-025-04307-4. Epub 2025 Apr 23.

Authors

Shilpa Kamalakar Pai^{1

2}, Akkarapaka Neelima³, Kajal Chakraborty¹, Lokanatha Valluru³, Shubhajit Dhara^{1

4}

Affiliations

¹ Marine Biotechnology, Fish Nutrition and Health Division, ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Ernakulam North P.O., P.B. No. 1603, Cochin, 682018 Kerala India.
² Department of Applied Chemistry, Cochin University of Science and Technology, South Kalamassery, Cochin, Kerala India.
³ Department of Biotechnology, Dravidian University, Kuppam, 517426 Andhra Pradesh India.
⁴ Department of Chemistry, Mangalore University, Mangalagangothri, 574199 Karnataka India.

PMID: 40292248
PMCID: PMC12018667 (available on 2026-05-01)
DOI: 10.1007/s13205-025-04307-4

Abstract

Polysaccharides derived from seaweeds possess notable immunomodulatory and antioxidant properties. This study investigated the therapeutic potential of polysaccharides extracted from four green seaweed species-Ulva reticulata (URP), Ulva lactuca (ULP), Ulva fasciata (UFP), and Caulerpa racemosa (CRP)-in a cyclophosphamide-induced immunosuppressed in vivo model. Polysaccharides were administered at varying doses over 14 days, with 150 mg/Kg body weight (BW) demonstrating the most pronounced effects. ULP treatment significantly restored body weight (199.5 g) compared to the cyclophosphamide group (155.92 g) and notably improved organ weight indices, particularly liver indices (5.28%). Hematological parameters showed marked improvements, including increased red blood cell count (7.55 × 10⁶/μL), hemoglobin levels (10.98 g/dL), and total leukocyte count (13.78 × 10³/μL). Immunoglobulin concentrations were significantly elevated, with IgG reaching 1125.16 and IgM 130.3 mg/dL, alongside a substantial enhancement in survival rates (78.3% vs. 22.4% in the cyclophosphamide group). Antioxidant enzyme activities were significantly enhanced, including superoxide dismutase (96.4%), catalase (0.20 U/mg protein), and lactate dehydrogenase (4.11 μg formazan). Among the species tested, ULP exhibited the most potent immunomodulatory and antioxidant effects, mitigating cyclophosphamide-induced immunosuppression and oxidative stress, thereby highlighting its potential as a therapeutic candidate for immune-related disorders.

Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13205-025-04307-4.

Keywords: Cyclophosphamide-induced immunosuppression; Green seaweeds; In vivo study; Marine polysaccharides; Ulvophyceae.

© King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology 2025. Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interestThe authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

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Marine polysaccharides from green seaweeds belonging to the class Ulvophyceae mitigate cyclophosphamide-induced immunosuppression: an in vivo study

Affiliations

Marine polysaccharides from green seaweeds belonging to the class Ulvophyceae mitigate cyclophosphamide-induced immunosuppression: an in vivo study

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

References

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources

Research Materials

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