In-vitro Assessment of Biological Properties of Lipids Isolated from Gonads of Stomopneustes variolaris

Lipid fractions of gonads present in sea urchins serves as a source of bioactive agents with potent pharmaceutical properties. The present study reports the in-vitro biological effects of lipids isolated from gonads of sea urchin: Stomopneustes variolaris collected from the East coast of India. The extracted lipids were characterized by spectroscopic techniques such as GCMS and FTIR and tested for in-vitro biological effects. GCMS analysis of the lipid extract detected high levels of hexa triacontane (17.023 %), tetratetracontane (15.913%), and octacosane (15.628%) and low concentrations of oleic acid (2.206%) and sulfurous acid, pentadecy 2-propyl ester (1.744%). FTIR analysis identified rich composition of functional groups present in the lipids such as 3418.93 cm-1 (hydroxyl), 2921.08cm-1 and 2854.81 cm-1 (alkane), 2660.69 cm-1 (carboxylic acid), 1596.11 cm-1 (amine), 1291.76 cm-1 (aromatic amine). The lipid fraction evaluated by agar diffusion assay measured in terms of zone of inhibition showed bactericidal effects against gram-positive bacteria: Streptococcus aureus (30 mm); Pseudomonas aeruginosa (28.5 mm) and gram-negative bacteria: Escherichia coli (29.5 mm); Klebsiella pneumonia (27.5 mm) and Vibrio cholera (28 mm) respectively. The lipid fraction also showed an effective anti-fungal effect against C.albicans (25 mm). Further, the lipid fractions showed good radical scavenging effect against total phenolic, flavonoid content (15.12 mg GAE/g and 32.72 mg QE/g), and hydrogen peroxide radicals (IC50- 48.28mg/ml) confirming its anti-oxidant potential. Based on the observed results, it was identified that the lipid fraction of gonads of Stomopneustes variolaris demonstrated various biological effects such as bactericidal, anti-fungal and radical scavenging activities which could have a great scope in the formulation of biopharmaceutical agents.