Sponges from North Borneo and their bioactivity against human colorectal cancer cells

Abstract

Invertebrates are a major reservoir for numerous cytotoxic compounds that are used to defence themselves against prey and adaptation towards the environment. Throughout the years, numerous studies discovered from sponge extracts were effective against a wide range of cancer cells. In this study, 23 sponges comprising of some 19 species were collected from Northeast Borneo. Sponges were treated and extracted using modified Folch extraction method, followed by cytotoxicity assay to determine their effectiveness against different colorectal cancer cells. From the results, Monanchora clathrate, Dysidea sp., and Jaspis sp. were found to possess different degrees of cytotoxicity against wide range of human colorectal cancer cell. Monanchora clathrate (KDT07), Dysidea sp. (KDT09), and Jaspis sp. (KDT18) are among the demosponges which possess significant cytotoxicity against colorectal cancer cell lines, including HCT116, LoVo, SW480, and SW620. Besides, we found that environmental factors tend to alter chemical yield from the different species under the same genera. Among them, KDT08 and KDT21 which fall under same genus Dysidea, yet possess insignificant cytotoxicity against colorectal cancer cells. This research article provides a preliminary test for cytotoxicity activity of a wide range of marine sponges. Throughout this study, acquired results could provide useful information to determine the worthiness to further isolate nor purify the nature product from these sponges.