Abstract
The extract of the compound ascidian Eusynstyela tincta, collected from Palk Bay and Gulf of Mannar, India was subjected through a battery of biological screens. The crude methanolic extract and subsequent fractions exhibited antibacterial, antifungal, cytotoxic and feeding deterrent activities. The extracts showed broad-spectrum antibiotic activity, and inhibited both bacterial and fungal pathogens. It also showed 100% cytotoxicity (25(μg/ml) against Dalton’s lymphoma and Ehrlich ascites tumour cells. A consistent feeding deterrent activity was established in both laboratory and field trials. It deterred the gold fish Carassius auratus. Among the extract/fractions assayed, methanol/ chloroform fraction had remarkable activity. The crude extract was separated through bioassay-guided fractionation and the active metabolite was identified as a pyridoacridine alkaloid, Kuanoniamine A. This study demonstrates that the ascidian metabolite, which exhibits antibiotic, cytotoxic and feeding deterrent activities, may play a role in the chemical defense mechanism.
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