## 2 Results and Discussion
### Effect of Administration
#### 2.2.3 Influence on Antioxidant Biomarkers
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{l c c c c} \hline
**Enzyme** & **Control** & **0.5 g kg\({}^{-1}\)** & **1.0 g kg\({}^{-1}\)** & **2.0 g kg\({}^{-1}\)** \\ \hline SOD hemolyzed (U-mg\({}^{-1}\) Hb) & 11.33 \(\pm\) 2.02 & 9.00 \(\pm\) 1.81 & 14.46 \(\pm\) 2.78 & 13.27 \(\pm\) 3.57 \\ SOD liver (U-mg\({}^{-1}\) prot.) & 35.09 \(\pm\) 1.80 & 34.55 \(\pm\) 1.24 & 32.71 \(\pm\) 1.18 & 35.51 \(\pm\) 0.96 \\ Gxr hemolyzed (U-mg\({}^{-1}\) Hb) & 142.02 \(\pm\) 162.87 & 106.83 \(\pm\) 183.74 & 1568.59 \(\pm\) 212.84 & 1368.04 \(\pm\) 283.80 \\ GPx liver (U-mg\({}^{-1}\) prot) & 1306.18 \(\pm\) 39.35 & 536.75 \(\pm\) 69.13 \({}^{*}\) & 487.49 \(\pm\) 35.90 \({}^{*}\) & 528.55 \(\pm\) 44.6 \({}^{*}\) \\ CAT hemolyzed (umol H\({}_{2}\)O\({}_{2}\)-mg\({}^{-1}\) Hb) & 752.60 \(\pm\) 95.72 & 630.82 \(\pm\) 143.89 & 884.28 \(\pm\) 167.33 & 726.53 \(\pm\) 182.14 \\ CAT liver (umol H\({}_{2}\)O\({}_{2}\)-mg\({}^{-1}\) Hb) & 1551.92 \(\pm\) 38.42 & 1450.28 \(\pm\) 37.02 & 1460.20 \(\pm\) 61.52 & 1458.94 \(\pm\) 35.48 \\ TBARS liver (nmol MDA-mg\({}^{-1}\) prot) & 2.43 \(\pm\) 0.21 & 1.33 \(\pm\) 0.09 \({}^{*}\) & 1.53 \(\pm\) 0.08 \({}^{*}\) & 1.82 \(\pm\) 0.12 \\ \hline \end{tabular}  
* Significant difference from the control group at \(p<\) 0.05.  
\end{table} 
Table 3: Activity of lipid peroxidation and antioxidants enzymes in control rats and _Sargassum muticum_ extract-treated groups. Values are mean \(\pm\) SEM. Number of animals per group = 6. Other Antioxidant Compounds  
Potential antioxidant compounds are widely distributed in seaweeds and act by scavenging ROS and inhibiting peroxidation. [PERSON] et al. [31] tested various doses of isolated fucan from _Sargassum vulgare_ and observed anticoagulant, antithrombotic and anti-inflammatory activity, but low antioxidant activity. In a similar way, [PERSON] and [PERSON] [32] tested the ability of fractionated extracts of marine algae to scavenge the DPPH radical. The red alga _Pyropia fallax_ and the green alga _Ulva lactuca_ did not show any detectable antioxidant activity. However, some species of brown algae have been found to display a high capacity to scavenge ROS and lower NO production. [PERSON] et al. [33] found that the antioxidant activity of fucoidan depended on the sulphate content of the extract. There appears to be some variability in the antioxidant capacity of algal extracts and their sulphate content [34]. Some products with low phenolic content have shown antioxidative effects. It is therefore possible that other compounds may also contribute to the antioxidant properties of seaweeds [35]. [PERSON] et al. [36] did not observe any differences in the levels of oxidation of extrahepatic tissue in pigs fed diets supplemented with extracts of _Laminaria_ spp. This led these authors to consider that three weeks of dietary supplementation was not sufficient to induce significant changes. The findings of a recent study by [PERSON] et al. [6] indicated that phlorotannin extracted from _Sargassum hemiphyllum_ exerts antioxidant activity against induced oxidative damage in the liver, kidney and brain. In the present study, the fact that the administration of the _Sargassum_ extract significantly decreased lipid peroxidation may have led to a parallel reduction in the mechanisms of defense against oxidation. Further studies are required in order to determine if polysaccharides and/or phlorotannins from algal extracts display antioxidant activity, how the action is exerted and whether the effect is only manifested under conditions of induced stress.