Smith Stuart J, Cummins Scott F, Motti Cherie A, Wang Tianfang
Centre for Bioinnovation, University of the Sunshine Coast, Sippy Downs, QLD, 4556, Australia.
School of Science, Technology and Engineering, University of the Sunshine Coast, Sippy Downs, QLD, 4556, Australia.
Anal Bioanal Chem. 2024 Dec;416(29):6893-6907. doi: 10.1007/s00216-024-05586-1. Epub 2024 Oct 10.
Saponins encompass a diverse group of naturally occurring glycoside molecules exhibiting amphiphilic properties and a broad range of biological activities. There is a resurgence of interest in those saponins produced by marine organisms based on their potential therapeutic benefits, application in food products and most recently their potential involvement in intra- and inter-species chemical communication. The continual advancements in liquid chromatography techniques and mass spectrometry technologies have allowed for greater detection rates, as well as improved isolation and elucidation of saponins. These factors have significantly contributed to the expansion in the catalogue of known saponin structures isolated from marine invertebrates; however, there currently exists no specific chemical library resource to accelerate the discovery process. In this study, a Marine Animal Saponin Database (MASD v1.0) has been developed to serve as a valuable chemical repository for known marine saponin-related data, including chemical formula, molecular mass and biological origin of nearly 1000 secondary metabolites associated with saponins produced by marine invertebrates. We demonstrate its application with an exemplar asteroid extract (Acanthaster cf. solaris, also known as crown-of-thorns starfish; COTS), identifying saponins from the MASD v1.0 that have been previously reported from COTS, as well as 21 saponins isolated from multiple other related asteroid species. This database will help facilitate future research endeavours, aiding researchers in exploring the vast chemical diversity of saponins produced by marine organisms and providing ecological insights, and the realisation of their potential for various applications, including as pharmaceuticals.
皂苷是一类多样的天然存在的糖苷分子，具有两亲性特性和广泛的生物活性。基于其潜在的治疗益处、在食品中的应用以及最近在种内和种间化学通讯中的潜在作用，人们对海洋生物产生的皂苷重新产生了兴趣。液相色谱技术和质谱技术的不断进步使得皂苷的检测率更高，分离和鉴定也得到了改进。这些因素显著促进了从海洋无脊椎动物中分离出的已知皂苷结构目录的扩展；然而，目前还没有特定的化学文库资源来加速发现过程。在这项研究中，开发了一个海洋动物皂苷数据库（MASD v1.0），作为已知海洋皂苷相关数据的宝贵化学储存库，包括近1000种与海洋无脊椎动物产生的皂苷相关的次生代谢物的化学式、分子量和生物来源。我们用一个典型的海星提取物（疑似太阳刺冠海星，也称为棘冠海星；COTS）展示了它的应用，从MASD v1.0中鉴定出先前已从COTS中报道的皂苷，以及从其他多种相关海星物种中分离出的21种皂苷。该数据库将有助于促进未来的研究工作，帮助研究人员探索海洋生物产生的皂苷的巨大化学多样性，提供生态学见解，并实现其在包括制药在内的各种应用中的潜力。
