Sterols from the Madagascar Sponge Fascaplysinopsis sp.

Marine Drugs

Maurice Aknin²  Emmanuelle Gros²  Jean Vacelet¹  Yoel Kashman³ 

[1] Centre d’Océanologie de Marseille, Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS UMR 6540 DIMAR, Station Marine d’Endoume, rue Batterie des Lions, 13007 Marseille, France; E-Mail:;Laboratoire de Chimie des Substances Naturelles et des Sciences des Aliments, Faculté des Sciences et Technologies, Université de la Réunion, 15 Avenue René Cassin, BP 7151, 97715 St Denis Messag Cedex 9, La Réunion, France; E-Mails:;School of Chemistry Tel Aviv University, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv 69978, Israel; E-Mail:

关键词: Fascaplysinopsis sp.;    Dictyoceratida;    Δ⁵;    7-sterols;    sponge-associated microorganisms;    chemotaxonomy;   

DOI  :  10.3390/md8122961

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

The sponge Fascaplysinopsis sp. (order Dictyoceratida, Family Thorectidae) from the west coast of Madagascar (Indian Ocean) is a particularly rich source of bioactive nitrogenous macrolides. The previous studies on this organism led to the suggestion that the latter should originate from associated microsymbionts. In order to evaluate the influence of microsymbionts on lipid content, 10 samples of Fascaplysinopsis sp. were investigated for their sterol composition. Contrary to the secondary metabolites, the sterol patterns established were qualitatively and quantitatively stable: 14 sterols with different unsaturated nuclei, Δ⁵, Δ⁷ and Δ^5,7, were identified; the last ones being the main sterols of the investigated sponges. The chemotaxonomic significance of these results for the order Dictyoceratida is also discussed in the context of the literature. The conjugated diene system in Δ^5,7 sterols is known to be unstable and easily photo-oxidized during storage and/or experiments to produce 5α,8α-epidioxy sterols. However, in this study, no 5α,8α-epidioxysterols (or only trace amounts) were observed. Thus, it was supposed that photo-oxidation was avoided thanks to the natural antioxidants detected in Fascaplysinopsis sp. by both the DPPH and β-caroten bleaching assays.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2010 by the authors; licensee Molecular Diversity Preservation International, Basel, Switzerland