Bioactivity Screening of the Selected Turkish Marine Sponges and Three Compounds from Agelas oroides

The extracts of various marine sponges ( Agelas oroides and Axinella damicornis , Axinella cannabina , Ircinia spinulosa , I. fasciculata , and I. variabilis , Dysidea avara , and Sarcotragus spinulosus ) collected from different spots of the Turkish cost of the Mediterr anean Sea have been evaluated for their antibacteri al, antifungal, 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging, and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitory ac tivities. Three compounds (oroidin, 4,5-dibromopyrrol-2-carboxylic acid, and 25-hydroxy-24-methylcholesterol) were isolated from A. oroides and tested in the same manner. The sponge extracts showed notable antimicrobial and anti- AChE activity and low DPPH scavenging activity. Oroidin was found to have moderate anti-AChE and strong radical scavenging activities. The results demonstr ated that the sponge extracts exerted a variable de gree of antibacterial, anti-radical, and anti-AChE activity , whereas they seemed to have similar antifungal ef fect. Our findings point out to the fact that the collection site has an important influence on bioactivity of t he sponges.