Sponges have a unique chemical environment that provides a natural defense against predators and controls the symbiont bacteria that grow with the sponge. In this study, organic compounds were extracted from samples of the common yellow ball sponge, Cinachyra alloclada, to be tested for the presence of substances with antibacterial or antifungal capabilities. C. alloclada, purchased from Gulf Specimens, were collected from the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Florida. Organic compounds were isolated using five different extraction methods to optimize the separation of components. The most productive method was a serial extraction of the macerated sponge in a 3.5% saline solution with solvents of increasing polarity: dichloromethane, butanol, and ethyl acetate. Each extract was analyzed by gravimetric analysis, thin layer chromatography, and bioassay. The microbial species used in bioassays were Escherichia coli (DH5α), Pseudomonas flourecens, Bacillus megaterium and Penicillium notatum. A substance that showed antibacterial capabilities was observed in all three methods that extracted directly from the macerated sponge samples, but not when the sponges were dehydrated for 24 hours prior to extraction. The optimized extraction procedure isolated a single component with antibacterial activity in the dichloromethane extract. The bioactive extracts showed dose dependent inhibition for both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial strains, but no inhibition of fungal strains. The isolated bioactive substance was characterized by chemical classification tests, qualitative thin layer chromatography staining, IR spectroscopy, and gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy, which indicated the substance is aromatic with an aldehyde and an amine functional group.

Extraction of antibacterial substance from Cinachyra alloclada

251st National Meeting (2016)

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