The antioxidant and stress-protective properties of an extract from the green alga Ulva lactuca Linnaeus, 1753

Abstract

The effects of an extract from the green alga Ulva lactuca and the Essentiale® commercial preparation, which was used as a reference, on the weight indexes of the viscera and the biochemical markers of the liver have been studied in a model of acute stress in rats. Acute stress was simulated by suspending animals in the upright position by their neck dorsal skin fold for 24 hours. Administration of the U. lactuca extract to rats exposed to the extreme stress resulted in a pronounced preventive action, which was manifested in the support of the weight index of their viscera, lipids metabolism, the antioxidant defense system of liver, and a reduction of lipid peroxidation. The extract from U. lactuca was no less effective in protecting the metabolic reactions of the liver under acute stress than the Essentiale® commercial preparation. The pronounced protective properties of the U. lactuca extract are explained by the combined effects of phospholipids of marine origin, n-3 PUFAs, and antioxidant polyphenols that comprise it.