Sastav sterolne smese algi jadranskog mora Ulva lactuca, Codium dichotomum, Cystoseira adriatica i Fucus virsoides

The sterol composition of two green algae and two brown algae from the South Adriatic was determined. In the green alga Ulva lactuca, the principal sterols, were cholesterol and isofucosterol. In the brown alga Cystoseira adriatica, the main sterols were cholesterol and stigmast-5-en-3 beta-ol, while the characteristic sterol of the brown algae, fucosterol, was found only in low concentration. The sterol fractions of the green alga Codium dichotomum and the brown alga Fucus virsoides contained practically only one sterol each, comprising more than 90 % of the total sterols (clerosterol in the former and fucoserol in the latter).Određen je sastav sterolne smese dve zelene i dve mrke alge iz južnog Jadrana. U zelenoj algi Ulva lactuca glavni steroli su holesterol i izofukosterol. U mrkoj algi Cystoseira adriatica glavni steroli su holesterol i stigmast-5-en-3ß-ol, dok je fukosterol, sterol karakterističan za mrke alge, nađen samo u maloj količini. Sterolne smese zelene alge Codium dichotomum i mrke alge Fucus virsoides sastoje se praktično samo od po jednog sterola, klerosterola u prvoj i fukosterola u drugoj, koji sačinjavaju više od 90 % sterolnih frakcija

Chemical composition of the brown alga Padina pavonia (L.) Gaill. from the adriatic sea

The chemical composition of the brown alga Padina pavonia (L.) Gaill. from the southern Adriatic Sea was investigated. Twelve sterols were identified in the sterol fraction, the main ones being cholesterol and fucosterol. The main fatty acids in the lipids were also identified.The most abundant fatty acid was palmitic acid, followed by oleic and myristic acids.The concentration of polyunsaturated fatty acids was unusually low for a marine alga. By GC/MS analysis of the volatile and polar fractions, 40 compounds were identified. Some of them probably possess defensive functions. In the volatile fraction free fatty acids, aromatic esters, benzyl alcohol and benzaldehyde predominated. Low concentrations of terpenoids, phenols and sulfur containing compounds were also identified.The nbutanol extract contained mainly fatty acids and polyols. Some of the extracts had an antibacterial activity

A novel lectin from the sponge Haliclona cratera: isolation, characterization and biological activity

A lectin from the Adriatic sponge Haliclona cratera was purified by ion-exchange and gel chromatography The molecular mass of the lectin is approximately 29 kDa. Purified lectin is rich in hydrophobic and basic amino acids and has an isoelectric point at pH 8.6. H. cratera lectin is relatively heat- and pH-stable. It agglutinates native and trypsinized, papainized and neuraminidase-treated human A, B, O, AB and sheep erythrocytes, and the hemagglutinating activity is independent of Ca2+, Mn2+ and Mg2+ ions; D-galactose and N-acetyl-D-galactosamine are found to be moderate inhibitors of the activity. H. cratera lectin displays cytotoxic effect on HeLa and FemX cells and weak mitogenic effect on human T-lymphocytes pretreated with phytohemagglutinin (PHA). (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved

Labelling of breast carcinoma, thyroid carcinoma and melanoma with manno- and galacto-specific lectins from marine invertebrates

Three marine invertebrate FITC-labelled lectins, CNL, GCL, and GSL, isolated respectively, from the sponges Chondrilla nucula, Geodia cydonium, and the hexacoral Gerardia savaglia, were used as potential diagnostic tools for different breast tumors. The lectins vary in their carbohydrate binding properties: GSL is D-mannose specific, GCL and CNL D-galactose specific. GSL labels most investigated types of malignant tissues distinctively, while the results with CNL and GC-L are less consistent. The well known D-mannose specific lectin, concanavalin A, also binds to tumor tissues, but with much lower intensity than GSL

Synthesis of nanostructured chitin-hematite composites under extreme biomimetic conditions

Chitin of poriferan origin is a unique and thermostable biological material. It also represents an example of a renewable materials source due to the high regeneration ability of Aplysina sponges under marine ranching conditions. Chitinous scaffolds isolated from the skeleton of the marine sponge Aplysina aerophoba were used as a template for the in vitro formation of Fe2O3 under conditions (pH similar to 1.5, 90 degrees C) which are extreme for biological materials. Novel chitin-Fe2O3 three dimensional composites, which have been prepared for the first time using hydrothermal synthesis, were thoroughly characterized using numerous analytical methods including Raman spectroscopy, XPS, XRD, electron diffraction and HR-TEM. We demonstrate the growth of uniform Fe2O3 nanocrystals into the nanostructured chitin substrate and propose a possible mechanism of chitin-hematite interactions. Moreover, we show that composites made of sponge chitin-Fe2O3 hybrid materials with active carbon can be successfully used as electrode materials for electrochemical capacitors