Sea cucumber (Holothuria atra) ethyl-acetate extract exerts anti-cholinesterase properties

Zayed, Marwa Ashraf; Abd El Hafez, Mohammed Said; Abd Elwahab, Miral Gamal; Mady, Rehab; Batiha, Gaber El-Saber; Shaheen, Hazem M; Ghareeb, Doaa Ahmed

doi:10.21608/djvs.2022.156975.1089

Sea cucumber (Holothuria atra) ethyl-acetate extract exerts anti-cholinesterase properties

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Damanhour University, Damanhour 22511, AlBeheira, Egypt

² National Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries, NIOF, Cairo, Egypt

³ Center of Excellence for Drug Preclinical Studies (CE‑DPS), Pharmaceutical and Fermentation Industries Development Centre (PFIDC), City of Scientific Research and Technological Applications (SRTA-City), New Borg El Arab, Egypt

⁴ Bio‑screening and Preclinical Trial Lab, Biochemistry Department, Faculty of Science, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt

10.21608/djvs.2022.156975.1089

Abstract

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is characterized by hyperactivations of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) associated with neuroinflammation. Sea cucumber has anti‑inflammatory, immunostimulant, and anticancer properties. It is considered a good nutraceutical candidate with low toxicity and high efficiency. This study assessed the activity of well-characterized sea cucumber- ethyl acetate crude extract toward AChE in vitro. Sea cucumber (Holothuria atra) samples collected from Hurghada were extracted by the maceration method using ethyl-acetate (99%), making a 0.12% yield. Furthermore, the extract phytochemical ingredients were identified using GC-MS. AChE enzyme was purified from male Egyptian Mediterranean bull brain tissue using ammonium sulfate precipitation and gel filtration (Sephadex G-100). The purification profile was assessed by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The inhibitory effect of the H. atra crude extract toward AChE was assessed colorimetric, and the kinetics profile was studied to identify the inhibition type by calculating Km and Vmax. Finally, in vitro cytotoxicity profile of this extract toward WI38 cells was estimated. The results revealed that the AChE was properly purified as the purification fold was increased by 27 times. Ethyl acetate crude extract demonstrated an uncompetitive AChE inhibition profile with an IC₅₀ value of 59.07 µg/ml toward WI38 cells. The results of the present investigation support the hypothesis that the crude ethyl-acetate extract of sea cucumber has anti-AChE properties.

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