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MARINE NATURAL PRODUCTS OF CAULERPA (SIPHONOCLADOPHYCEAE)

R. ALIYA AND MUSTAFA SHAMEEL

Abstract: Five siphonocladophycean green seaweeds, Caulerpa chemnitzia (Esp.) Lamour., C. faridii Nizam., C. manorensis Nizam., C. racemosa (Forssk.) J. Ag., and C. taxifolia (Vahl) C. Ag., collected from the coastal waters near Karachi were analyzed phycochemically for their fatty acid, sterol and diterpene constituents using GLC, El-, FD-, GC-, HR- & IR-MS and ¹H- & ¹³C-NMR spectroscopy. Altogether 36 acids i.e. 18 saturated and 18 unsaturated fatty acids were identified as methyl esters. Five different sterols have been identified, isolated, purified and chemically elucidated. Cholesterol was found to be the most abundant sterol, and with the exception of C. faridii it was found in all the other four species. Two diterpenoids have also been isolated from 3 species of Caulerpa, which are acyclic straight chain compounds and are being reported for the first time from any species of Caulerpa. The five species of Caulerpa differed from one another phycochemically in many different aspects.

Department of Botany, University of Karachi, Karachi-75270, Pakistan.