Sterol composition of the sponge Fasciospongia cavernosa, from the Adriatic, Aegean and Tyrrhenian seas

Abstract

The sterol composition of three samples of Fasciospongia cavernosa from the Adriatic Sea, Aegean Sea and Tyrrhenian Sea, is reported. In all samples two groups of sterols were present: dietary sterols (stanols and Δ 5-sterols) and Δ 5,7-sterols, the last ones being the main sterols of the investigated sponges. The sterol composition of the three samples investigated appears to be identical; differences observed were mainly in the dietary sterols. Thirty one sterols have been identified for the first time in the genus Fasciospongia. The tentative structure of one new sterol is proposed on the basis of mass spectral data.