Exploring Marine-Derived Polysaccharides Through In Vitro and Zebrafish In Vivo Assays: Initial Trends of A Novel Approach to Drug Screening

Abstract

The sulfated polysaccharides derived from marine species have attracted attention for their nutraceutical and pharmaceutical potential. Initially examined in cell culture, many labs have further tested their activity in in vivo rodent assays. Zebrafish embryos have been recently proposed as an alternative model species to test anti-inflammatory, fungicidal, immunomodulatory, antioxidant, antitumor or toxicity effects with significant success. In this article, we systematically review by PRISMA strategy the assays that use zebrafish to evaluate potential nutraceutical and pharmaceutical applications of polysaccharides from more than 30 marine algal species. Effects against cancer, inflammation and oxidative stress or over regeneration capacity, immunomodulation, and photoprotection in zebrafish are here compared. From this review, some polysaccharides appear as safe antitumor compounds (e.g., neutral S. skottsbergii-derived fraction over G-361 melanoma) while others show significant toxicity to embryos. The current bibliography shows a clear trend to use in parallel zebrafish larvae and in vitro assays to test the effects of polysaccharide fractions recovered from a variety of bioprocess from different marine algae-derived biomass. Its potential application in the pharmacology and nutraceutical industry is discussed.