Context: To this day, there are no reports that marine compounds isolated from microorganisms of the Lianyungang area of China have been used for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.
Objective: The present study was to isolate fungi from the sea sediment of the Lianyungang area and screen for acetylcholineseterase inhibition activities of ethyl acetate extracts.
Materials and methods: Fungi were isolated from the sea sediment and fermented. After centrifugation, the supernate was extracted with ethyl acetate. The ethyl acetate extract was then fractionated into five fractions. Acetylcholinesterase inhibition activities of the ethyl acetate extracts and five sub-fractions were tested at a concentration of 500 μg/mL with the Ellman's method.
Results: Forty-three marine fungi were isolated; 15 extracts inhibited acetylcholinestrease >50% and 3 extracts inhibited the acetylcholinesterase >80% at the concentration of 500 μg/mL. The 3 extracts (L1705, S1101, SH0701) inhibited AChE dose-dependently with IC₅₀ values of 11.3 ± 1.2, 72.1 ± 2.3, and 7.8 ± 2.8 μg/mL, respectively. After the extract of SH0701 was fractionated into five fractions, the ethyl acetate fraction possessed the highest acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activity with an inhibition rate of 71.55% at the concentration of 10 μg/mL. The fungus SH0701 was identified as Aspergillus ochraceus SH0701 according to morphology and molecular identification.
Discussion and conclusion: The present results indicates that some ethyl acetate extracts of marine fungi isolated from Lianyungang area of China could inhibit AChE potently. Therefore, some novel AChE inhibitors might exist in those extracts.