*3.1. Materials*

Samples of *S. crassifolium*, a type of brown seaweed, were collected from Kenting (Pingtung, Taiwan), and, after washing and drying, they were sealed in aluminum foil bags and kept at 4 ◦C until use. Dextrans (5, 50, 150, and 670 kDa), l-fucose, d-glucuronic acid, dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), potassium bromide (KBr), 2,2,2-trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), and 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) were obtained from Sigma-Aldrich (St. Louis, MO, USA). Ham's F12K medium, Dulbecco's Modified Eagle Medium (DMEM) medium, trypsin/ ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), fetal bovine serum (FBS), penicillin, and streptomycin were obtained from Gibco Laboratories (Grand Island, NY, USA). TMRE and fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-labeled anti-Bcl-2 antibodies were obtained from Molecular Probes, Invitrogen Corp. (Carlsbad, CA, USA).
