Unravelling the anti-Inflammatory and antioxidant potential of the marine sponge Cliona celata from the Portuguese coastline

Funding: This work was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) through the strategic project UIDP/04292/2020 and UIDB/04292/2020 granted to MARE—Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre and UIDP/Multi/04046/2020 and UIDB/04046/2020 granted to BioISI—BioSystems and Integrative Sciences Institute, through the POINT4PAC project (Oncologia de Precisão: Terapias e Tecnologias Inovadoras (SAICTPAC/0019/2015-LISBOA-01-0145-FEDER016405), and through the CROSS-ATLANTIC project (PTDC/BIA-OUT/29250/2017), co-financed by COMPETE (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-029250). FCT is also acknowledged for the grant attributed to J.S. (SFRH/BD/103255/2014).

Inflammation is a double-edged sword, as it can have both protective effects and harmful consequences, which, combined with oxidative stress (OS), can lead to the development of deathly chronic inflammatory conditions. Over the years, research has evidenced the potential of marine sponges as a source of effective anti-inflammatory therapeutic agents. Within this framework, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the antioxidant and the anti-inflammatory potential of the marine sponge Cliona celata. For this purpose, their organic extracts (C1–C5) and fractions were evaluated concerning their radical scavenging activity through 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH), ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC), and anti-inflammatory activity through a (lipopolysaccharides (LPS)-induced inflammation on RAW 264.7 cells) model. Compounds present in the two most active fractions (F5 and F13) of C4 were tentatively identified by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Even though samples displayed low antioxidant activity, they presented a high anti-inflammatory capacity in the studied cellular inflammatory model when compared to the anti-inflammatory standard, dexamethasone. GC-MS analysis led to the identification of n-hexadecanoic acid, cis-9-hexadecenal, and 13-octadecenal in fraction F5, while two major compounds, octadecanoic acid and cholesterol, were identified in fraction F13. The developed studies demonstrated the high anti-inflammatory activity of the marine sponge C. celata extracts and fractions, highlighting its potential for further therapeutic applications.

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