Toxicity of methanol fraction from marine tunicates Pyura sp and Polycarpa aurata to the brine shrimp Artemia salina Leach

Abstract

Marine tunicates have been known to produce bioactive compounds with anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-viral and anti-cancer properties. However there have been few studies on marine tunicates from the Sangkarang Archipelago in Indonesia. The purpose of the present study was to determine the toxicity of crude extracts from two marine tunicates against the brine shrimp Artemia salina Leach. Toxicity tests of the methanol fractions extracted from the marine tunicates Polycarpa aurata and Pyura sp were performed on Artemia salina Leach. Sample tunicates were collected from Sangkarang waters, then air-dried and freeze dried before proceeding to extraction. Active compounds from the dried tunicate samples were extracted using methanol solvent. The chemical extraction process and Brine Shrimp Lethality Test (BSLT) were conducted according to standard procedures. The LC50 values were 73.2 ug/ml for the Pyura sp extract, and 55.0 ug/ml for the Polycarpa aurata extract. These results show a level of toxic activity towards Artemia salina Leach which warrants further study of the bioactive compounds produced by these two tunicates.