Secondary metabolites of some varieties of Caulerpa species

Abstract

Several species of Caulerpa have been investigated and bioactive principles, such as caulerpin and caulerpicine have been isolated from a number of them. Caulerpin produces mild anesthetic action, difficulty in breathing, sedation, and loss of balance. The toxic syndrome has been reported to be somewhat similar to that produced by ciguatera fish poisoning. The neurotrophic activity of caulerpicine is thought to be of clinical value. Tropical green algae and a few of their temperate relatives have yielded a number of bioactive metabolites and some of these are believed to be used by the algae as a chemical defense against herbivorous animals. This research was aimed to determine the secondary metabolites compound of some varieties of Caulerpa species. Chromatography and Spectrophotometric methods were used to conduct this research. The result shows that Caulerpin and caulerpicin presence on five species of Caulerpa species Caulerpa racemosa Siquijor, Caulerpa lentillifera wild and farm from Mactan, Caulerpa clavifera Mactan and Caulerpa lentillifera cultured in the common garden. Higher absorbance of both compounds caulerpin and caulerpicin found in wild Caulerpa lentillifera from Mactan while the lowest absorbance of caulerpin found in Caulerpa racemosa collected from Siquijor, whereas the lowest absorbance of caulerpicin found in the cultured Caulerpa lentillifera in the common garden.