Abstract

The present study compared aqueous and ethanolic solvents to evaluate the in vitro anticancer, anti-elastase and anti-collagenase activity of Hypnea pannosa seaweed extracts. Additionally, the study evaluated the extract's preliminary phytochemical composition, total phenolic and flavonoid content, antioxidant and antibacterial activity. The analysis revealed the presence of several phytochemicals and the range of total phenolic (11.14±0.17 mg gallic acid equivalents/g and flavonoid (5.83±0.09 mg quercetin equivalent/g) content in the ethanolic extract. The ethanolic extract showed the highest antioxidant activity against 2,2-diphenyl-1- picrylhydrazyl (half-maximal inhibitory concentration=6.32±0.04 μg/ml) and the most potent anticancer effect against COLO 829 melanoma cancer cell lines (half-maximal inhibitory concentration=95.70 μg/ml). It also exhibited the most potent anti-elastase and anti-collagenase effect against human melanoma cells, with halfmaximal inhibitory concentration values of 48.53 and 48.76 μg/ml, respectively. The ethanol extract showed maximum antibacterial activity and the highest inhibition zone of 14.5 and 14 mm against Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, respectively. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopic analysis shows that many polyphenols are present in ethanol extract, which has received importance in cosmeceutical perspectives (3925- 3893 cm^-1). The study hence provides evidence that the ethanol extract of Hypnea pannosa has significant potential for antioxidants, anticancer, antibacterial, anti-elastase and anti-collagenase and may lead to further cosmeceutical applications through the isolation and purification of bioactive compounds.