Effects of Several Seaweed Extracts on the Viability of Human Keratinocyte HaCaT Cells

The cellular viability of the human keratinocyte cell line HaCaT was compared after adding seaweed extracts to the culture medium. The viability was measured using a quick, quantitative, spectrophotometric crystal violet inclusion method. Of 36 common seaweed species tested, methanol extracts from Sargassum sagamianum and Gigartina tenella enhanced the viability of HaCaT cells by 1.6-fold, as compared to control cells, while methanol extracts from Dictyota dichotoma, Pachymeniopsis elliptica, and Enteromorpha linza decreased the viability to less than half that of controls.