Exploring a Marine Zoanthid - Zoanthus sansibaricus – A Potential candidate for Drug Discovery

Abstract

The oceans and all the marine life forms that they harbor remain a major source of treasure to mankind, covering 71% of the earth's surface and representing over 95% of the biosphere. Zoanthids, a subclass of the benthic Anthozoans, are found in almost all marine environments. Despite this fact, the order Zoantharia is still one of the most taxonomically neglected and least examined orders of the phylum Cnidaria. However, they are gaining importance in the pharmaceutical research field due to the significance of bioactive compounds secreted from their bodies. Zoanthus sansibaricus species collected from the Indian coast have been explored in the present study. The study aimed to isolate chemical constituents from the methanol and methanol: chloroform (1:1) extract of Zoanthus sp. by subjecting it to a series of chromatographic analysis. In total, eight compounds were purified from petroleum ether, chloroform, n-butanol, and methanol-soluble parts of aqueous fractions. The compounds were characterized using spectroscopic techniques such as Ultraviolet-Visible (UV-Vis), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR), 1H and 13C Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), and Mass spectrometry. Total phenolic content and total flavonoid content were estimated using the Folin-Ciocalteu method and Aluminum chloride method, respectively. The phenolic compound contents of the petroleum ether and methanol-soluble part of the aqueous fraction were 18.92mg/g GAE and 7.02mg/g GAE, respectively. Total flavonoid content in the petroleum ether fraction was 8.05mg/g QUE and 1.38mg/g QUE in the methanol-soluble part of the aqueous fraction. This study emphasizes the need for a more extensive compilation of such data to extend our pool of knowledge about marine natural products as potential candidates for drug discovery.