Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Marine Bioactive Compounds and Their Potential as Functional Food Ingredients in the Prevention and Treatment of Neuroinflammatory Disorders.

Functional foods include enhanced, enriched, fortified, or whole foods that impart health benefits beyond their nutritional value, particularly when consumed as part of a varied diet on a regular basis at effective levels. Marine sources can serve as the sources of various healthy foods and numerous functional food ingredients with biological effects can be derived from these sources. Microalgae, macroalgae, crustaceans, fungi, bacteria fish, and fish by-products are the most common marine sources that can provide many potential functional food ingredients including phenolic compounds, proteins and peptides, and polysaccharides. Neuroinflammation is closely linked with the initiation and progression of various neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease, Huntington's disease, and Parkinson's disease. Activation of astrocytes and microglia is a defense mechanism of the brain to counter damaged tissues and detrimental pathogens, wherein their chronic activation triggers neuroinflammation that can further exacerbate or induce neurodegeneration. Currently, available therapeutic agents only provide symptomatic relief from these disorders and no therapies are available to stop or slow down the advancement of neurodegeneration. Thereffore, natural compounds that can exert a protective effect against these disorders have therapeutic potential. Numerous chemical compounds, including bioactive peptides, fatty acids, pigments, alkaloids, and polysaccharides, have already been isolated from marine sources that show anti-inflammatory properties, which can be effective in the treatment and prevention of neuroinflammatory disorders. The anti-inflammatory potential of marine-derived compounds as functional food ingredients in the prevention and treatment of neurological disorders is covered in this review.

Extraction, Identification and Biological Activities of Saponins in Sea Cucumber Pearsonothuria graeffei.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: Secondary metabolism in marine organisms produces a diversity of biologically important natural compounds that are not present in terrestrial species. Sea cucumbers belong to the invertebrate Echinodermata and are famous for their nutraceutical, medical and food values. They are known for possession triterpenoid glycosides (saponins) with various ecological roles. The current work aimed to separate, identify and test various biological activities (antibacterial, antifungal, antileishmanial and anticancer properties) of saponins produced by the holothurian Pearsonothuria graeffei from the Red Sea, Egypt. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The structures were identified by 1D and 2D NMR (1H, 13C, TOCSY, COSY, HSQC, HMBC, and ROESY) experiments and acid hydrolysis. The crude and purified fractions was analyzed using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS)/MS to identify saponins and characterize their molecular structures. Partially purified fraction, mainly containing compounds 1 and 2, was screened for its antifungal activity against three clinical isolates of Candida albicans (Candida 580 (1), Candida 581(2) and Candida MEO47228. Antileishmanial activity against Leishmania major and toxicity on colon cell-line were also evaluated. RESULTS: Two lanostane type sulfated triterpene monoglycosides were isolated from the Holothurian Pearsonothuria graeffei from the Red Sea, Egypt. Holothurin A (1) and echinoside A (2) triterpene saponins were separated by reversed phase semi-preparative HPLC. LC50 values (µg/mL); calculated for the fraction containing saponins 1 and 2 as major constituents; against Candida albicans, Leishmania major and colon cell-line were 10, 20 and 0.50, respectively. CONCLUSION: Consequently, this study demonstrated the potential use of sea cucumber Pearsonothuria graeffei not only as appreciated functional food or nutraceuticals but also as the source of functional ingredients for pharmaceutical products with antifungal, antileishmanial and anticancer properties.

Furan metabolites from the sponge-derived yeast Pichia membranifaciens.

Five new compounds, pichiafurans A-C (1-3) and pichiacins A and B (4 and 5), along with five known compounds (6-10), have been isolated from the yeast Pichia membranifaciens derived from a marine sponge Petrosia sp. Their structures were elucidated by 1D and 2D NMR and mass spectrometry techniques. Pichiafurans are rare examples of monofurano metabolites isolated from yeast.

Sulfated lupane triterpene derivatives and a flavone C-glycoside from Gypsophila repens.

A new sulfated lupane triterpene, Gypsophilin (1), and its glucosyl ester, Gypsophilinoside (2) were isolated from the roots of Gypsophila repens whereas a new flavone C-glycoside (3) was obtained from the aerial parts. Their structures were established as (3beta)-3-O-(sulfo)lup-20(29)-en-23,28-dioic acid (1), (3beta)-3-O-(sulfo)lup-20(29)-en-23,28-dioic acid -28-O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl ester (2) and luteolin-7-O-alpha-L-arabinopyranosyl-6-C-beta-glucopyranoside (3) by spectroscopic methods such as 1D and 2D NMR, HR-ESI-MS and FAB-MS.

Acylated preatroxigenin glycosides from Atroxima congolana.

Six new acylated bisdesmosidic preatroxigenin saponins named atroximasaponins E1, E2 (1, 2), F1, F2 (3, 4), and G1, G2 (5, 6) were isolated as three inseparable mixtures of the trans- and cis-p-methoxycinnamoyl derivatives, from the roots of Atroxima congolana. Their structures were established through extensive NMR spectroscopic analysis as 3-O-beta-D-glucopyranosylpreatroxigenin-28-O-beta-D-xylopyranosyl-(1-->4)-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1-->2)-[beta-D-glucopyranosyl-(1-->3)]-[4-O-trans-p-methoxycinnamoyl]-beta-D-fucopyranoside (atroximasaponin E1, 1), and its cis-isomer, atroximasaponin E2 (2), 3-O-beta-D-glucopyranosylpreatroxigenin-28-O-beta-D-xylopyranosyl-(1-->4)-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1-->2)-[6-O-acetyl-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-(1-->3)]-[4-O-trans-p-methoxycinnamoyl]-beta-D-fucopyranoside (atroximasaponin F1, 3), and its cis-isomer, atroximasaponin F2 (4), 3-O-beta-D-glucopyranosylpreatroxigenin-28-O-beta-D-apiofuranosyl-(1-->3)-[alpha-l-rhamnopyranosyl-(1-->2)]-[4-O-trans-p-methoxycinnamoyl]-beta-D-fucopyranoside (atroximasaponin G1, 5), and its cis-isomer, atroximasaponin G2 (6), respectively.

Novel acylated triterpene glycosides from Muraltia heisteria.

Four new acylated triterpene glycosides (1-4) have been isolated as two inseparable mixtures of the trans- and cis-3,4,5-trimethoxycinnamoyl derivatives (1,2 and 3,4) from the roots of Muraltia heisteria. The structures of these compounds were elucidated by various 1D and 2D NMR techniques, including (1)H and (13)C, COSY, NOESY, HSQC, TOCSY, and HMBC experiments and FABMS. Compounds 3 and 4 were shown to be cytotoxic in a human colon cancer cell line but did not show any ability to potentiate in vitro cisplatin cytotoxicity.