Antifouling and antibacterial activities of bioactive extracts from different organs of the sea cucumber Holothuria leucospilota

Abstract

In this study, antifouling and antibacterial properties of polar, semi polar and non-polar bioactive compounds derived from the sea cucumber Holothuria leucospilota were investigated. A series comprising n-hexane, ethyl acetate and methanol extracts from four different organs of sea cucumber (body wall, gonad, digestive tract and respiratory tree) were investigated for their antibacterial and antifouling activity against two species of microalgae, larvae of barnacle Amphibalanus amphitrite and a non-target organism: larvae of Artemia salina. Results showed that the highest antibacterial activity was found in the ethyl acetate extract of body wall against Staphylococcus aureus with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 0.250 mg/mL. The MIC of ethyl acetate extract of body wall ranged between 0.062 and 0.250 mg/mL against two microalgal strains. All extracts showed moderate to low toxicity against larvae of barnacles. The most pronounced anti-barnacle activity was found in the ethyl acetate extract of body wall with median lethal concentration (LC 50) value of 0.049 mg/mL. Among the twelve extracts, the ethyl acetate extracts of body wall showed the maximum antibacterial and antifouling activities. The bioactive compounds of the ethyl acetate extract of the sea cucumber body wall were determined using gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. Fatty acids and terpenes were the major compounds, which may be responsible for antibacterial and antifouling activity of the ethyl acetate extract of body wall of the sea cucumber H. leucospilota.

Sea cucumbers of the Arabian Peninsula and Iran – A review of historical and current research trends

“…For example, extracts of Holothuria parva have been shown to reduce the impact of electromagnetic radiation on the testes of male Balb/C mice ( Vasei et al, 2015 ). Recently the anti-fouling and anti-microbial potential of H. leucopsilota was investigated, and fatty acids and Terpenes identified in ethyl acetate extracts of the body wall showed strong activity against Barnacle larvae and Staphylococcus aureus ( Darya et al, 2020 ).…”

Antifouling coating based on biopolymers (PCL/ PLA) and bioactive extract from the sea cucumber Stichopus herrmanni

“…Whereas, they reported that the Staphylococcus epidermidis was the most sensitive strain against the methanolic and ethyl acetate extracts. In addition, Darya et al ( 2020 ) reported antibacterial and antifouling activates of several extracts (especially ethyl acetate extract) from Holothuria leucospilota . They suggested that fatty acids and terpenes as the major detected compounds in the extract might be responsible for antibacterial and antifouling activities.…”

“…Natural products from Sea cucumbers have been widely investigated for their biological activities such as antibacterial (Mashjoor and Yousefzadi 2017 ), antialgal, antifungal (Han et al 2009 ; Mashjoor and Yousefzadi 2017 ), antitumoral (Tian et al 2005 ) and so forth. Terpenoids are one of the most investigated secondary metabolites of the sea cucumbers, which may be used as new possible antifouling agents (Mert Ozupek and Cavas 2017 ; Darya et al 2020 ). In this regard, triterpene glycosides and saponins derived from the sea cucumbers have been previously considered as suitable candidates for cytotoxic, antimicrobial and antifouling agents (Aminin et al 2015 ; Mert Ozupek and Cavas 2017 ; Bahrami et al 2018 ).…”

Chemical Composition, in-vitro Antioxidant, Antibacterial, and Anti-algal Activity of Lakshadweep Feather Star Spp. Comaster Schlegelii and Himerometra Robustipinna

“…5). Darya et al (2020) reported that ethyl acetate extract of Holothuria leucospilota showed significant anti-algal activity against C.muelleri. The quick anti-algal activity of both the feather star species suggests the suitability against emergency control of algal blooms.…”