Antimicrotubulin Activity from the Plant Rumex crispus and a Marine Sponge

Abstract

Natural products have historically been an important source of new anticancer drugs. In the search for new natural products with anticancer activities, the terresterial plants and marine sponges were tested for the effects on cellular microtubules. The plant, Rumex Crispus, and an identified marine sponge have shown microtubule activities within immunofluorescence assays. Several types of purification techniques were implemented to isolate the active compound(s) within the twosamples: solvent partition, Sephadex (LH-20) gel chromatography, silica gel chromatography, and high performance liquid chromatography. The microtubule activity of the plant was isolated by using HPLC at about 24 minutes of its retention time. The sponge, on the other hand, had a wide range of activity on the HPLC after about 15 to 30 minutes of its elution time. The active compound of the sponge appeared from the boiassays to have smeared durings its separation. Complete isolation, structure elucidation, and specific biological tests of the active compound(s) were not completed for both samples due to time constraints and insufficient amount of materials. Continued purification and isolation will commence at a later date.