Characterizing Eckol as a Therapeutic Aid: A Systematic Review

Manandhar, Bandana; Paudel, Pradeep; Seong, Su Hui; Jung, Hyun Ah; Choi, Jae Sue

Brown algae Ethanol [20] Eckol, a precursor compound illustrating the dibenzo-1,4-dioxin class of phlorotannins, contains phloroglucinol components linked to each other in multiple fashions ( Figure 1 ). Several marine organisms are known to produce eckol, particularly in brown (Table 1 ) and red algae [10] . Eckol has been shown to exhibit antioxidant [13, 21, 22] , anti-inflammatory [23, 24] , hepatoprotective [14, 25] , neuroprotective [26] , anti-obesity [27] , anti-hypertensive [28] , and antibacterial and antiviral [29] activity. Because of these numerous health benefits, this particular compound has been a prime focus for researcher eager to elucidate its pharmacological potential (Table 2 and Figure 2 ). Therefore, understanding the biological activities of eckol to expand effective therapeutic approaches is very important. Although abundant information related to compounds from marine algae [5, [30] [31] [32] , seaweed [6, [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] [38] , and phlorotannins from seaweeds [10, 39, 40] is accessible, little information is available about this particular type of phlorotannin. Therefore, this review summarizes the biological characterization and pharmacological bioactivity of eckol, focusing on recent advancements related to this particular compound.