Distribution of Defensive Metabolites in Nudibranch Molluscs.

Many plants and animals store toxic or unpalatable compounds in tissues that are easily encountered by predators during attack. Defensive compounds can be produced de novo, or obtained from dietary sources and stored directly without selection or modification, or can be selectively sequestered or biotransformed. Storage strategies should be optimized to produce effective defence mechanisms but also prevent autotoxicity of the host.

The Sequestration of Oxy-Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers in the Nudibranchs Miamira magnifica and Miamira miamirana.

A series of oxy-polybrominated diphenyl ethers (O-PBDEs) has been isolated from the extracts of and collected from Queensland, Australia. sequesters the new OH-PBDE and six known OH-PBDEs containing four to six bromines (-). also accumulates known tribromo- and tetrabromo OMe-PBDEs - in both mantle and viscera tissues.

Oxygenated Diterpenes from the Indo-Pacific Nudibranchs Goniobranchus splendidus and Ardeadoris egretta.

Five new diterpenes (1-5), each with a highly oxygenated spongian framework, were characterized from an organic extract of a specimen of the nudibranch Goniobranchus splendidus collected from Eastern Australia. The new diterpene 7α-hydroxydendrillol-3 (6) was identified from specimens of Ardeodoris egretta. The structures and relative configurations of the six new metabolites have been elucidated by analysis of their spectroscopic data.

In silico study of fucoxanthin as a tumor cytotoxic agent.

Background: Fucoxanthin is a potential tumor cytotoxic compound. However, mechanisms underlying the activities are unclear.

Aim: This in silico study aimed to predict the main mechanism of fucoxanthin; whether with its binding to p53 gene, CDK2, or tubulin.