ISOLATION AND IDENTIFICATION OF A NEW ANTIPROLIFERATIVE INDOLOCARBAZOLE ALKALOID DERIVATIVE EXTRACTED FROM FARMED SHRIMP (Litopenaeus vannamei) MUSCLE

Farmed shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei, one of the most consumed seafood in the planet, is a source of antiproliferative extracts still to be fully characterized. This study the isolation and identification of these antiproliferative compounds. From a chloroform-soluble extract from shrimp muscle, hexane- and methanol-soluble fractions were obtained and tested for antiproliferative activity (MTT), a bioassay that guided the fractionation and isolation of bioactive fractions using open column chromatography. MeOH-soluble fraction resulted bioactive and was subjected to further fractionation from which one subfraction outstand for being highly active against prostate cancer cell line. Antiproliferative effects were evaluated using colorimetric assays and cell morphology observations. Further chromatographic procedures resulted in sub-fractions from which one was effective in causing DNA damage and F-actin polymerization, which suggests cellular collapse and apoptosis. According to the structural chemical characterization carried out, dioctyl phthalate, eicosapentaenoic acid, and an indolocarbazole alkaloid type of compound were identified. This last compound, which resulted majorly responsible for the bioactivity, was not found reported in the available databases. Pure EPA control was used to compare it with the subfraction, observing greater activity in the subfraction than when EPA was used, suggesting that another compound different from EPA is providing the highest activity; but, more investigation is needed for a full chemical and structural characterization.