CARIBBEAN CORALS (PSEUDOPTEROGORIA) AS SOURCE OF NEW ANTIINFLAMMATORY AGENTS)

海洋无脊椎动物已经被化学家鉴定了很长时间 作为新的生物医学物质的可能来源。药理学家， 生理学家和生物化学家已经证明， 新型海产品改变了基本的生命过程， 暗示着生物医学应用。这些分子可以作为 指导医药化工行业开发新的 产品.这项研究专门针对加勒比海柳珊瑚 拟蛇珊瑚属的珊瑚作为一种可能的资源， 新的抗炎天然产物。十五个中只有六个 已知存在于 对加勒比区域的中学化学教育进行了评估， 代谢物组成。许多拟游蛇属的物种已经 已经显示出产生具有强效抗炎作用的代谢物 活动具体来说，在这项研究的四年中，我们计划 仔细研究了五种以前未被探索过的化学物质 收集于波多黎各的假柳珊瑚的一个种。 用不同极性的溶剂（例如，己烷， 二氯甲烷和甲醇）将使用细胞毒性进行监测 和抗炎活性测定。每一种柳珊瑚提取物 残基也将通过1H-1H 和13 C-NMR光谱。通过色谱法进一步纯化 （柱，GC，LC）和分子结构测定将继续进行 如果筛选结果允许的话。结构解析将依赖于 严重依赖于光谱方法（例如，1H和13 C NMR、MS、IR、UV）和X-射线衍射（XRD）。 射线衍射技术。

Marine invertebrates have been identified for a long time by chemists as likely sources of new biomedicinal substances. Pharmacologists, physiologists and biochemists have demonstrated that many of these novel marine products modify fundamental life processes in ways suggesting biomedical applications. These molecules can serve as leads to guide the pharmaceutical and chemical industries in developing new products. This research aims specifically at Caribbean gorgonian octocorals of the genus Pseudopterogorgia as a likely resource for novel anti-inflammatory natural products. Only six of the fifteen species of Pseudopterogorgia gorgonian octocorals known to exist in the Caribbean region have been assessed chemically for their secondary metabolite composition. Many Pseudopterogorgia species have already been shown to produce metabolites possessing potent anti-inflammatory activity. Specifically, during the four years of this research we plan to carefully scrutinize -the chemistry of five previously unexplored species of Pseudopterogorgia gorgonians collected in Puerto Rico. Initial extraction with solvents of different polarities (e.g., hexane, methylene chloride, and methanol) will be monitored using cytotoxicity and anti-inflammatory activity assays. Each of the gorgonian extract residues will also be screened for chemical structural features by 1H- and 13C-NMR spectroscopy. Further purification by chromatography (column, GC, LC) and determination of molecular structure will proceed if warranted by the screening results. Structure elucidation will rely heavily on spectral methods (e.g., 1H and 13C NMR, MS, IR, UV) and X- ray diffraction techniques.