Discovering the Bioactive Compounds in Marine Seagrasses from the Gulf of Mannar, India

Seagrass meadows, often referred to as the "lungs of the sea," are vital marine angiosperms in the coastal ecosystem. This study focuses on the metabolic profiling, mineral quantification, and antioxidant potential of five seagrass species from the Gulf of Mannar, India: Halodule uninervis, Thalassia hemprichii, Enhalus acoroides, Cymodocea serrulata, and Syringodium isoetifolium. FTIR and MRS confirmed the presence of sulfate esters and sulfate stretching. The GC-MS based metabolites identified common compounds were such as n-hexadecenoic acid, phytol, cyclic octa-atomic sulfur, and 3,7,11,15-Tetramethyl-2-hexadecen-1. The ICP-OES quantification revealed high amounts of essential elements like magnesium, calcium, and sulfur, which were further confirmed by EDAX and flame photometry. Among the solvent extracts, hexane extract demonstrated the highest antioxidant potential in S. isoetifolium, showing the most potent inhibition of 90.19 %, 96.09 %, 55.75 %, and 57.44 % in DPPH, ABTS, FRAP, and NOS assays, respectively.