Bioactive compounds from Holothuria atra of Indian ocean

The sea cucumber (Holothuria atra) extracts have been evaluated for the presence of bioactive compounds and various biological activities. The methanol extracts showed anti proliferative activities against the Hela and MCF-7 cell lines. Similarly the inhibitory effects of Herpes simplex virus 1 and 2 cells were detected using the plaque reduction assay. The extracts of H. atra were purified using the silica gel column chromatography. The active fractions collected were observed for antimicrobial activity. The GC-MS analysis showed the availability of 59 compounds. The active bioactive compounds found in the H. atra were analyzed and their structure was identified using the (1)HNMR and (13)C NMR experiments. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/2193-1801-3-673) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.