Toxicity evaluation and volatile component analysis of tropical marine sponge Clathria sp. (Schmidt, 1862)

Marine sponge Clathria sp. holds a significant position in marine natural product research due to its wide range of secondary metabolites. Extensive distribution of genus Clathria in the world causes variances in chemical profile in relation to their environment. The purpose of this study was to evaluate toxicity and profile secondary metabolites of sponge Clathria sp. collected from coastal waters off Mannar, Sri Lanka. Methanolic crude extract of the sponge was subjected to preliminary phytochemical screening and GC-MS analysis. Alkaloids, steroids, terpenoids, and saponins were subjected to phytochemical screening. Seven steroidal derivatives; Cholesta-3,5-diene, stigmastan- 3,5-diene, cholesta-7,14-diene, (5. alpha.), ergosta-4,6,22-triene, cholesta-2,4-diene and cholest-2- ene were identified through GC-MS analysis. Brine shrimp lethality assay was carried out to test the toxicity of the extract. LC50 value estimated at 624 ppm. Results of the present study suggest that ethanolic extract of marine sponge Clathria sp. contains steroidal derivatives and certain toxicity, which will be important in future studies to understand the antifouling property of Clathria sp.