Acetylcholinesterase‐Inhibitory Activities of the Extracts from Sponges Collected in Mauritius Waters

Patients diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease (AD) show a characteristic neurochemical deficit of acetylcholine, especially in the basal forebrains. The use of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitors to retard the hydrolysis of acetylcholine has been suggested as a promising strategy for AD treatment. In this study, we evaluated the acetylcholinesterase inhibitory (AChEI) activities of 134 extracts obtained from 45 species of marine sponges. Thin‐layer chromatography (TLC) and microplate assays reveal potent acetylcholinsterase inhibitory activities of two AcOEt extracts from the sponges Pericharax heteroraphis and Amphimedon navalis Pulitzer‐Finali . We further investigated the inhibitory kinetics of the extracts and found them to display mixed competitive/noncompetitive inhibition and associated their inhibitory activity partly to terpenoids. Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors from marine organisms have been rarely studied, and this study demonstrated the potential of marine sponges as a source of pharmaceutical leads against neurodegenerative diseases.