Acetylcholinesterase-inhibitory activities of the extracts from sponges collected in Mauritius waters

Girish Beedessee, Avin Ramanjooloo, Rashmee Surnam-Boodhun, Rob W.M. Van Soest, Daniel E.P. Marie*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

22 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Patients diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease (AD) show a characteristic neurochemical deficit of acetylcholine, especially in the basal forebrains. The use of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitors to retard the hydrolysis of acetylcholine has been suggested as a promising strategy for AD treatment. In this study, we evaluated the acetylcholinesterase inhibitory (AChEI) activities of 134 extracts obtained from 45 species of marine sponges. Thin-layer chromatography (TLC) and microplate assays reveal potent acetylcholinsterase inhibitory activities of two AcOEt extracts from the sponges Pericharax heteroraphis and Amphimedon navalis Pulitzer-Finali. We further investigated the inhibitory kinetics of the extracts and found them to display mixed competitive/noncompetitive inhibition and associated their inhibitory activity partly to terpenoids. Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors from marine organisms have been rarely studied, and this study demonstrated the potential of marine sponges as a source of pharmaceutical leads against neurodegenerative diseases.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)442-451
Number of pages10
JournalChemistry and Biodiversity
Volume10
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Mar 2013
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Acetylcholinesterase
  • Alzheimer's disease
  • Inhibitors
  • Sponges

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