Isolation and characterization of secondary metabolites from Arctic, Marine Invertebrates

Abstract

The search for bioactive compounds, or genes in macro- and microorganisms from the sea, is termed marine bioprospecting. Marine bioprospecting aims to increase the utilization and value of marine biomasses and organisms with the purpose of developing commercial products. Because of the special condition of the sea, it is known that marine invertebrates have adapted chemical defense strategies to survive, such as producing secondary metabolites. Secondary metabolites are unique in diversity, functional and structural features, and it has been shown that secondary metabolites can have bioactive properties. These secondary metabolites result in the ocean offering a variety of compounds with bioactive activity that can be utilized as commercial products such as pharmaceuticals.

In this project the aim was to isolate and characterize secondary metabolites from marine invertebrates. Four flash fractions with anticancer activity against a human melanoma cancer cell line (A2058) were selected for dereplication with high-resolution mass spectrometry. Two flash fractions from Porifera Indet and Lucernaria quadricornis extracts were chosen for further isolation using preparative high performance liquid chromatography and structure elucidation using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The purified compounds were screened for bioactivity using anticancer- and antibacterial assays. No activity was detected with the test concentration employed in the assays.