Evaluation of antimalarial properties from Azores deep- sea invertebrate extracts: a first contribution

Several deep-sea marine invertebrates were collected from hydrothermal vents, seamounts and cold coral assemblages in the North Atlantic Ocean, near the Azores islands. The effect of their lipid crude extracts against two strains of malaria parasite P. falciparum (Dd2 and 3D7) was measured in vitro in order to establish the potential of these invertebrates as new sources for antimalarial compounds. Extracts that presented higher antimalarial activity potential were gorgonian Callogorgia verticillata and the hydrothermal vent shrimp Mirocaris fortunata, presenting the lowest value of IC50 and the highest selectivity index for both evaluated stains. To our knowledge this is the first report on the antimalarial activity of crude lipid extracts considering species collected at depths higher then 100 m.