Lobophytum sarcophytoides | |
---|---|
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Cnidaria |
Class: | Octocorallia |
Order: | Alcyonacea |
Family: | Alcyoniidae |
Genus: | Lobophytum |
Species: | L. sarcophytoides |
Binomial name | |
Lobophytum sarcophytoides Moser,1919 | |
Lobophytum sarcophytoides is a soft coral known for two new cembrane-type diterpenoids, lobophytins and four new prostaglandins from a specimen. [1]
SYSU-MS001, a specimen of L. sarcophytoides, was collected in the South China Sea, was extracted, and biologists discovered two new cembrane-type diterpenoids, lobophytins and four new prostaglandins from it. [1] Also, the chemical Sarcophytolin D has also been taken from other specimens of the species. [2]
Prostaglandins (PG) are a group of physiologically active lipid compounds called eicosanoids that have diverse hormone-like effects in animals. Prostaglandins have been found in almost every tissue in humans and other animals. They are derived enzymatically from the fatty acid arachidonic acid. Every prostaglandin contains 20 carbon atoms, including a 5-carbon ring. They are a subclass of eicosanoids and of the prostanoid class of fatty acid derivatives.
Salvinorin A is the main active psychotropic molecule in Salvia divinorum. Salvinorin A is considered a dissociative hallucinogen.
The terpenoids, also known as isoprenoids, are a class of naturally occurring organic chemicals derived from the 5-carbon compound isoprene and its derivatives called terpenes, diterpenes, etc. While sometimes used interchangeably with "terpenes", terpenoids contain additional functional groups, usually containing oxygen. When combined with the hydrocarbon terpenes, terpenoids comprise about 80,000 compounds. They are the largest class of plant secondary metabolites, representing about 60% of known natural products. Many terpenoids have substantial pharmacological bioactivity and are therefore of interest to medicinal chemists.
Salvinorins are a group of natural chemical compounds and their structural analogs. Several salvinorins have been isolated from Salvia divinorum. They are classified as diterpenoid furanolactones. Salvinorin A is a hallucinogen with dissociative effects.
Actinidine is an iridoid produced in nature by a wide variety of plants and animals. It was the first cyclopentanoid monoterpene alkaloid to be discovered. It is one of several compounds that may be extracted from the valerian root and silver vine, as well as several types of insects in the larval and imaginal stages. Actinidine is a cat attractant, with effects like those of nepetalactone, the active compound found in catnip.
Alcyonacea are an order of sessile colonial cnidarians that are found throughout the oceans of the world, especially in the deep sea, polar waters, tropics and subtropics. Whilst not in a strict taxonomic sense, Alcyonacea are commonly known as soft corals. The term "soft coral" generally applies to organisms in the two orders Pennatulacea and Alcyonacea with their polyps embedded within a fleshy mass of coenenchymal tissue. Consequently, the term "gorgonian coral" is commonly handed to multiple species in the order Alcyonacea that produce a mineralized skeletal axis composed of calcite and the proteinaceous material gorgonin only and corresponds to only one of several families within the formally accepted taxon Gorgoniidae (Scleractinia). These can be found in order Malacalcyonacea (taxonomic synonyms of include : Alcyoniina, Holaxonia, Protoalcyonaria, Scleraxonia, and Stolonifera. They are sessile colonial cnidarians that are found throughout the oceans of the world, especially in the deep sea, polar waters, tropics and subtropics. Common names for subsets of this order are sea fans and sea whips; others are similar to the sea pens of related order Pennatulacea. Individual tiny polyps form colonies that are normally erect, flattened, branching, and reminiscent of a fan. Others may be whiplike, bushy, or even encrusting. A colony can be several feet high and across, but only a few inches thick. They may be brightly coloured, often purple, red, or yellow. Photosynthetic gorgonians can be successfully kept in captive aquaria.
Cyclopentenone prostaglandins are a subset of prostaglandins (PGs) or prostanoids that has 15-deoxy-Δ12,14-prostaglandin J2 (15-d-Δ12,14-PGJ2), Δ12-PGJ2, and PGJ2 as its most prominent members but also including PGA2, PGA1, and, while not classified as such, other PGs. 15-d-Δ12,14-PGJ2, Δ12-PGJ2, and PGJ2 share a common mono-unsaturated cyclopentenone structure as well as a set of similar biological activities including the ability to suppress inflammation responses and the growth as well as survival of cells, particularly those of cancerous or neurological origin. Consequently, these three cyclopentenone-PGs and the two epoxyisoprostanes are suggested to be models for the development of novel anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer drugs. The cyclopenentone prostaglandins are structurally and functionally related to a subset of isoprostanes viz., two cyclopentenone isoprostanes, 5,6-epoxyisoprostane E2 and 5,6-epoxisoprostane A2.
Ferruginol is a natural phenol with a terpenoid substructure. Specifically, it is a diterpene of the abietane chemical class, meaning it is characterized by three fused six-membered rings and alkyl functional groups. Ferruginol was first identified in 1939 by Brandt and Neubauer as the main component in the resin of the Miro tree and has since been isolated from other conifer species in the families Cupressaceae and Podocarpaceae. As a biomarker, the presence of ferruginol in fossils, mainly resin, is used to describe the density of these conifers in that particular biosphere throughout time.
Tritoniopsis elegans is a species of dendronotid nudibranch. It is a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Tritoniidae and is found in the western Indo-Pacific. It was first described by the French naturalist Jean Victoire Audouin in 1826, the type specimen being found in the Red Sea.
Anshunsaurus is a genus of thalattosaurs within the family Askeptosauridae. Fossils have been found from Middle Triassic deposits in Guizhou, China. Three species are known: the type species A. huangguoshuensis, the slightly older species A. wushaensis, and the species A. huangnihensis.
Capnellene is a naturally occurring tricyclic hydrocarbon derived from Capnella imbricata, a species of soft coral found in Indonesia. Since the 1970s, capnellene has been targeted for synthesis by numerous investigators due to its stereochemistry, functionality, and the interesting geometry of the carbon skeleton. Many alcohol derivatives of capnellene have demonstrated potential as a chemotherapeutic agent with antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and anti-tumor properties.
Gersemia rubiformis, commonly known as the sea strawberry, is a species of soft coral in the family Nephtheidae. It is found in the northwest Atlantic and the northeast Pacific Oceans.
Plexaura homomalla, commonly known as the black sea rod or Caribbean sea whip, is a species of gorgonian-type octocoral in the family Plexauridae. It is widely distributed in the Caribbean from the Florida Keys to the northern coast of Venezuela. P. homomalla contains the bioactive lipid prostaglandin A2 15-acetate methyl ester at about 3% of total wet weight.
Hanosaurus is an extinct genus of marine reptiles that existed during the Triassic period in what is now China. The type species is Hanosaurus hupehensis. It was a small animal, with specimens measuring 79.4 cm (31.3 in) long in total body length, which likely fed on soft-bodied prey.
Sarcophyton glaucum, also known as toadstool leather coral or rough leather coral, is a common species of soft coral found from the Red Sea to western Pacific Ocean. Sarcophyton glaucum belongs to the phylum Cnidaria, the class Anthozoa, and the family Alcyoniidae.
Antillogorgia bipinnata, the bipinnate sea plume, is a species of colonial soft coral, a sea fan in the family Gorgoniidae. It is found in the Caribbean Sea. It was first described as Pseudopterogorgia bipinnata in 1864 by the American zoologist Addison Emery Verrill. Williams and Chen (2012), transferred all the Atlantic species of Pseudopterogorgia to Antillogorgia.
Cladiella krempfi is a species of soft coral in the family Alcyoniidae. It is found in the western Indo-Pacific and was first described by the British zoologist Sydney John Hickson in 1919.
Lobophytum batarum is a species of Devil's Hand Coral or Lobophytum found in the Pacific and Indian oceans.
Lobophytum cristatum is a coral species of the genus Lobophytum.
Lobophytum varium is a coral species of the genus Lobophytum.