Comparative Evaluation of Bioactivities of two Marine Sponges, Zygomycale parishii and Callyspongia diffusa from Southwest Coast of India

Aims: The present study was done to evaluate and compare the bioactivities of methanol and dichloromethane extracts of two marine sponges, Zygomycale parishii and Callyspongia diffusa from Southwest coast of India.

Place and Duration of the Study: At the Microbial Biotechnology Laboratory, School of Biosciences, Mahatma Gandhi University between May 2013- August 2014.

Methodology: The methanol and dichloromethane extracts of the two selected species were prepared and were subjected to various bioactivities. Antioxidant activity was assayed using DPPH radical scavenging activity assay and total antioxidant activity assay. Antibacterial activity was assayed by the disc diffusion method using the selected pathogens such as E. coli, Salmonella typhi, Salmonella paratyphi, Staphylococcus aureus and Vibrio cholerae. Immunomodulatory activity was analyzed by calculating the phagocytic index and by Nitro Blue tetrazolium assay. Acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activity was examined by modified Ellman’s method. The chemical constituents of these extracts were analyzed by routine phytochemical methods.

Results: Antioxidant activity was assayed using DPPH radical scavenging activity and total antioxidant activity indicated that both sponge extracts possessed antioxidant activity and the dichloromethane extract of Zygomycale was more active with an IC50 value of 486µg. Immunomodulatory activity was analyzed by calculating phagocytic index and Nitro Blue tetrazolium assay indicated that the extract of Zygomycale was more immunomodulatory. Acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activity assay revealed that Zygomycale extract was more active with an inhibitory potential in the range of 49-61%.The chemical constituents of these extracts were analyzed by routine phytochemical methods showed the presence of alkaloids, phenols, triterpenoid, and aromatic acids in both the sponge extracts.

Conclusion: The extracts of Zygomycale parishii was more active in all the assays performed compared to that of Callyspongia diffusa. So it can be concluded that further fractionation and purification will yield potent compounds for pharmaceutical leads.