Cytotoxicity and bioactivity of some marine animals

433-437Organic extracts of locally occurring animals such as sponge Tethya sp., hermit crab Eupagurus sp., cuttle fish Sepia aculeata, squid Loligo duvaucelli, starfish Asterina lorioli and flat fish Cynoglossus sp. were tested for toxicity, haemolytic activity and larvicidal activity. All extracts were toxic to fish resulting in death of fish accompanied by changes in gills and liver. Chloroform extract of sponge, methanol extract of hermit crab, ether fraction of acetone extract of L. duvaucelli, S. aculeata and Cynoglossus sp. showed strong haemolytic activity. Chromatographic separation of extract of Loligo yielded a highly haemolytic white shining compound, (m.p. 145-146°C). Chloroform extract of starfish was strongly haemolytic than petroleum ether extract. Petroleum ether extract of starfish and sponge showed strong haemolytic activity

<i><span style="font-size:21.5pt;mso-bidi-font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In vivo </span></i><span style="font-size:22.5pt;mso-bidi-font-size:14.5pt; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">and <i><span style="font-size: 21.5pt;mso-bidi-font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">in vitro </span></i><span style="font-size:22.5pt;mso-bidi-font-size:14.5pt; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">evaluation for immunomodulatory activity of three marine animal extracts with reference to phagocytosis </span></span>

1399-1402<span style="font-size: 16.5pt;mso-bidi-font-size:8.5pt;font-family:" times="" new="" roman","serif""="">The whole body ether extracts of a marine prawn <span style="font-size: 15.5pt;mso-bidi-font-size:7.5pt;font-family:" arial","sans-serif""="">Nematopaleamon tenuipes <span style="font-size:16.5pt;mso-bidi-font-size:8.5pt; font-family:" times="" new="" roman","serif""="">and two gastropods viz. Euchelus asper <span style="font-size:16.5pt;mso-bidi-font-size:8.5pt; font-family:" times="" new="" roman","serif""="">and <span style="font-size: 15.5pt;mso-bidi-font-size:7.5pt;font-family:" arial","sans-serif""="">Hemifusus pugilinus, <span style="font-size:16.5pt;mso-bidi-font-size:8.5pt;font-family: " times="" new="" roman","serif""="">obtained by Soxhlet extraction and cold percolation were tested for their effects on phagocytosis by <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><span style="font-size:16.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:8.0pt;font-family: " times="" new="" roman","serif""="">in<span style="font-size:16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:8.0pt;font-family:" times="" new="" roman","serif""=""> vitro <span style="font-size:16.5pt;mso-bidi-font-size:8.5pt;font-family: " times="" new="" roman","serif""="">(slide method) and by <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><span style="font-size:16.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:8.0pt;font-family: " times="" new="" roman","serif""="">in<span style="font-size:16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:8.0pt;font-family:" times="" new="" roman","serif""=""> vivo <span style="font-size:16.5pt;mso-bidi-font-size:8.5pt;font-family: " times="" new="" roman","serif""="">(carbon clearance) methods. Extract of E. asper <span style="font-size:16.5pt;mso-bidi-font-size:8.5pt; font-family:" times="" new="" roman","serif""="">exhibits immunostimulatory activity <span style="font-size:16.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size: 8.0pt;font-family:" times="" new="" roman","serif""="">in vivo<span style="font-size:15.5pt;mso-bidi-font-size:7.5pt; font-family:" arial","sans-serif""=""> <span style="font-size:16.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size:8.5pt;font-family:" times="" new="" roman","serif""="">and immunosuppressant activity in viv<span style="font-size:15.5pt;mso-bidi-font-size:7.5pt;font-family: " arial","sans-serif""="">o. <span style="font-size:16.5pt;mso-bidi-font-size: 8.5pt;font-family:" times="" new="" roman","serif""="">The <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><span style="font-size:16.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:8.0pt;font-family: " times="" new="" roman","serif""="">in<span style="font-size:16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:8.0pt;font-family:" times="" new="" roman","serif""=""> vitro <span style="font-size:16.5pt;mso-bidi-font-size:8.5pt;font-family: " times="" new="" roman","serif""="">test for <span style="font-size:15.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size:7.5pt;font-family:" arial","sans-serif""="">N. tenuipes and <span style="font-size:16.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:8.0pt;font-family: " arial","sans-serif""="">H. <span style="font-size:15.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size:7.5pt;font-family:" arial","sans-serif""="">pugilinus shows biphasic activity, but the former shows immunostimulatory while the later shows immunosuppressant activity <span style="font-size:15.5pt;mso-bidi-font-size: 7.5pt;font-family:" arial","sans-serif""="">in vivo test. </span

Evaluation of immunomodulatory activity of extracts from marine animals

22-27The whole body ether extracts of a marine prawn Nematopaleamon tenuipes (PEP), two gastropods viz. Euchelus asper (EAE) and Hemifusus pugilinus (HPE), and acetone extract of a fish Rastrelliger kanagurta (MA), were tested for their effects on Delayed type Hypersensitivity (DTH) reaction and Plaque Forming Cell (PFC) assay. The Delayed type Hypersensitive reaction assay for HPE and PEP as well as MA showed stimulation but EAE was found to be less effective. In the PFC assay HPE and MA showed immunostimulation whereas PEP and EAE showed immunosuppression. PEP was further resolved into two fractions, which were tested for in vitro lymphocyte proliferation assay as well as antiproliferative assay. It is concluded that the test extracts possess immunomodulatory property

Effect of Bombay high crude oil and its water-soluble fraction on growth and metabolism of diatom Thalassiosira sp.

251-255Effect of Bombay high crude oil (BHC) and its water-soluble fraction (WSF) on growth and metabolism of the phytoplankton, Thalassiosira sp. was assessed. The study revealed the signs of acute toxicity at higher concentrations of crude oil (0.5%) and WSF (40%), while stimulatory effect was observed at lower concentrations (0.01 and 0.1% of BHC and 5, 10% of WSF). WSF at higher concentrations (20 and 40%) caused reduction in DNA and RNA of the diatom. At lower concentrations it caused increase in protein and RNA content indicating increased metabolism. High concentrations of oil and its fraction had inhibitory effect on growth, protein content and nucleic acid content. This indicates that biosynthesis of these molecules may be probable targets for toxicity of oil

Mosquito larvicidal potential of some extracts obtained from the marine organisms prawn and sea cucumber

303-306The larvicidal potential of two marine organisms was investigated by testing their non-polar to polar organic extracts against mosquito Culex pipens fatigans. In the present investigation the non-polar petroleum ether extract of prawn Nematopalaemon. tenuipes, Hendersen and polar methanol extract of sea cucumber Holothuria scabra, Jaeger body wall were found to be effective against mosquito larvae. The preliminary chemical analysis showed the presence of steroids in the active extract of prawns, whereas the presence of saponins in the active extract of sea cucumber body wall. In this context, the observed mosquito larvicidal activity could be attributed to the presence of steroids and saponins. In summary, this investigation explores the importance of marine organisms as a valuable resource for the discovery of novel insecticidal molecules

Marine Natural Products: New Avenue in Treatment of Osteoporosis

Bone metabolism is a physiological process that maintains the skeletal integrity and bone functions. Skeletal integrity is always balanced by two key cell types—bone resorbing osteoclasts and bone-forming osteoblasts. Imbalance between generation and function of osteoclasts and osteoblasts often leads to pathological conditions such as osteoporosis, osteopetrosis, Paget's disease. Osteoporosis is one of the most common age-related diseases characterized by decreased bone mineral density and microarchitectural deterioration. Current therapies are indeed effective in preventing bone loss but are also followed by side effects. Since many years, marine organisms have been considered as a good source of bioactive molecules or compounds with potential pharmaceutical properties. Marine Natural Products (MNPs) derived from various marine resources such as marine cyanobacteria, dinoflagellates, algae, sponges, soft corals, molluscs, fishes, and mangroves had shown profound effect on bone metabolism through inhibiting osteoclastogenesis and up-regulating osteoblastogenesis via modulating RANK/RANKL/OPG pathway. Amongst the pre-clinically investigated MNPs for management of osteoporosis, very few are under phase I clinical trials. This review discusses the currently available pharmacological drugs and there major health concern in osteoporosis treatment. It further gives an insight into various marine resources and marine-derived bioactive products, depicting their mechanism of action, functional role, and how these can be exploited for the treatment of osteoporosis