The starfish Asterias amurensis is one of the common species in Japanese coastal area. The species is considered an extremely rich source of biological active compounds, including saponin. Saponins are secondary metabolites and exhibit a wide spectrum of biological activities. The species of starfish caught in Kobe, Hyogo prefecture, Japan, was analyzed for species identification and micronutrient content. The starfish extract was evaluated for different biological properties and its fractions obtained using thin layer chromatography (TLC). Nucleotide sequence analysis of the 16S rRNA gene fragment of mitochondrial DNA indicated that partial sequences of PCR products of the species was identical with that of A. amurensis. The micronutrient contents results showed that nitrogen (N) content of the starfish was 1.50% of dry weight and the copper content was 2.10 µg/g. The crude extract of A. amurensis exhibited predominant growth inhibitory activity against six human fungal pathogens and also showed hemolytic activity against 2% sheep erythrocyte. The present findings suggest the possible pharmacological applications of A. amurensis that can be used as food ingredients and antifungal component.Key words: Asterias amurensis, crude extract, biological property, saponin, antifungal component.
INTRODUCTIONNowadays, invasion of exotic species has become a major concern in the marine environment since the number of human-mediated introduction has increased (Ruiz et al., 2000). Many studies researching marine invertebrates to determine the therapeutic potential of their bioactive materials have been showing very promising results (Lee et al., 2014 (Ishii et al., 2006;Suh et al., 2011). Saponins are a group of natural plant glycosides, characterized by their strong foam-forming properties in aqueous solution that occur in a wide range of plant species (Osbourn, 1996). The presence of saponin has been reported in more than 100 families of plants out of which at least 150 kinds of natural saponins have been found to possess significant anti-cancer properties (Man et al., 2010). Saponins have also been commonly employed in some other sector in medical practice because of their potential health benefits. In addition, many plant saponins have been isolated and they exhibit broad spectrum of biological uses, such as anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, ion channel blocking, immune stimulating, antifungal, and anti-thrombotic property (Lee et al., 2014;Thao et al., 2014).The starfish A. amurensis, called the northern Pacific starfish, is a predator of the marine benthic system that is listed in the top 100 invasive species globally (Lowe et al., 2000). The species was identified as a serious pest species because of its ability to consume a wide range of food sources including mussels, scallops, and clams (Global invasive species database, 2016). The wastes of them results in serious environmental pollution. Furthermore the large outbreak of starfish causes significant loss of the marine ecosystem and fishing gears (Kim, 1969). There i...