Cytochrome c oxidase-1 gene sequences of mitochondrial genome were analyzed for species identification and phylogenetic relationship among the commercially important Nemipterus species. Sequence analysis of COI gene clearly indicated that all the nine fish species fell into distinct clads, which are genetically distant from each other and exhibited identical phylogenetic reservation. All the COI gene sequences provide sufficient phylogenetic information and evolutionary relationship to distinguish the nine Nemipterus species unambiguously. As per the neighbour-joining (NJ) and maximum likelihood (ML) trees, all the nine species are genetically distant from each other and exhibited identical phylogenetic reservation. Based on the NJ and ML phylogenetic trees N. mesoprion, N. zysron, N. hexodon, N. nematophorus, N. virgatus and N. bipunctatus were closely related with high bootstrap value (97). The overall mean Kimura two parameter (K2P) distances between the nine species was 0.109. The intra species K2P distance was high in N. japonicus (0.069) followed by N. peronii (0.050) and N. mesoprion (0.002). This study proves the use of mtDNA COI gene sequence based approach is an alternative tool for identifying fish species at a faster pace.

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The crude petroleum ether and methanol ink extracts of Sepiella inermis were tested for their antimicrobial activity against human pathogenic fungi and bacteria by disc diffusion method. Spectral analysis was carried out by UV-VIS spectrophotometer, FT-IR, Raman IR and GC-MS. Of the two solvent extracts, only methanol extract was active and no activity was detected in petroleum ether extract. The human pathogenic fungus Candida albicans and bacterium Proteus vulgaris were found to be highly sensitive, with an inhibition zone of 20 and 19 mm respectively. GC-MS of methanol ink extract revealed sixteen compounds belonging to the derivatives of dihydroxy indole-2-carboxylic acid and dihydroxyindole. These investigations proved that methanol ink extract of Sepiella inermis possess significant antimicrobial property against both fungus and gram -ve bacteria. Since ink of sepia is available abundantly as a waste material, studies focused on isolation and characterization of bioactive substances pave the way for new antimicrobial compounds.

The nutritional composition and functional groups of the edible portion of the most often utilized cuttlefish, Sepia pharaonis of Puducherry coastal waters, India was evaluated. Moisture is the basic component of the mantle with 82.45±0.15% followed by a good source of 14.5±0.1% protein. The ash, lipid, and carbohydrates were found less than 1%. The energetic value of the mantle of cuttlefish S. pharaonis is calculated as 6.06 KJ/g. Na and K were found in considerable quantities of 2772 and 3247 mg/kg respectively and the Na/K ratio (0.85) was less than 1. The amount of Zn, Mn, B, Al, Sr, and As was found to be relatively high when compared to a low or insignificant level of Cu, Mo, Se, Cr, Ni, Pb, and Hg. The fatty acid profile analysis revealed that it contains 71.67% saturated fatty acids,17.87% polyunsaturated fatty acids and 10.38% monounsaturated fatty acids. In all three types, the C16:0 palmitic acid (40.29%), C18:0 stearic acid (16.54%), and C22:6 docosahexaenoic acid (13.52%) represented as the dominant fatty acids. The FT-IR analysis disclosed the presence of various functional groups belonging to protein, lipids, and polysaccharides. Thus, the present study proved that the cuttlefish S. pharaonis is considered as a potential nutraceutical and the right choice of food for greater and wider human consumption.

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