Journal of the Marine Biological Association of India

Bioactive compounds of the marine hemichordate Ptychodera flava of the Madras Coast.

Volume 34 Issue 1&2

Jayapaul Azariah and Nalini Jeyakumar

Abstract

A wide variety of halometabolites is ubiquitous in the marine biome. There are about 500 naturally occurring halogenated compounds which are produced by a wide variety of marine biota. Although iodine has been associated with the hemichordates, chemical characterisation has revealed the occurrence of bromo-organic compounds. In order to update the information on the chemical nature of the hemichordates, a review on its chemical constituents has been given.

It has been reported that the toxicity of the crude extract of the hemichordates is depended on the strength of the extract. High concentrations of the extract inhibited the physiological and other life professes. An attempt has been made in this paper to characterise the chemical species that may be responsible for such a behaviour. Using the NMR and IR spectrometers, the chemical structure of the bio-dynamic natural chemical substances was studied. The study revealed the presence of aromatic, - CH, proton and - OH proton groups. Absence of - NH₂ proton and the presence of - CH₃-CHs groups are considered significant. The possible ecophysiological significance of these chemical compounds have been suggested.

Date : 31-10-1992