The Antibacterial activity of ß amberine extracted from the gonad of sea cucumber Holothuria leucospilota inhabiting Hengam island, Persian Gulf

Owing to the antibacterial activities of sea cucumber and the abundance of Holoturia locuspila in the Persian Gulf, the antibacterial activity of ß amberine extreacted from the gonad of this sea cucumber species was studied. In this investigation, acetone extract was prepared from the dried powder of sea cucumber. Isolation of ß amberine was carried out by column chromatography on silica gel and identification was carried out by TLC and GC/MS. In vitro antibacterial screening was determined by broth dilution against bacteria; Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumonia, Salmonella typhi, Proteus vulgaris, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, Bacillus subtilis and Nocardia brasiliensis. The ß amberine formula C30H48O was detected by GC/MS from no. 11 fraction with 98% purity. This component showed considerable activity against Bacillus cereus, Bacillus subtilis (MBC = 1000 µg/mL) and Salmonella typhi, Staphylococcus aureus (MBC = 2000 µg/mL). According to our results, ß amberine extracted from sea cucumber can be considered as a source of novel antibacterial drug.