Sarhadizadeh N, Afkhami M and Ehsanpour M
Within the frame of a biodiversity and bioactivity study of marine macro organisms from the Persian Gulf, Stichopus hermanni a sea cucumber species extracts were investigated for cytotoxic, antibacterial and antifungal activities against five human pathogenic microorganisms. All concentrations of extracts showed no antibacterial activity towards the tested strains. In antifungal assays the sea cucumber extracts showed significant activity solely against Aspergilus niger with MICs ranging from 3 to 15 μg/ml. The highest antifungal activity was found in body wall (MeOH) extract with an inhibition zone of 38 mm against A. niger at 18 μg/ml extract concentration. Body wall and Cuvierian organ extracts of this species exhibited cytotoxic activities. It is important for future research to concentrate on finding the mechanisms employed by sea cucumbers to defend themselves against invasion, the mechanism of infections and the type of chemical compounds in S. hermanni extracts that inhibit antifungal growth or proliferation in less exploited areas such as the Persian Gulf.
