الفهرس 
IntroductionOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
The ocean is considered to be a great source of potential drugs. Secondary metabolites such as alkaloids, phenols, steroids and terpenoids have toxicological, pharmacological and ecological significance. Soft corals belong to family Alcyoniidaie involving certain genera as Sarcophyton, Sinularia and Lobophytum. Sinularia polydactyla is one of the most prevalent soft coral species on the shallow coastal reefs in Hurghada. On the other hand, sponges or Porifera have a worldwide distribution and can be found from tropics to polar regions. The genus Higginsia wildly distributed in tropical and temperate IndoPacific Ocean, South Africa, West Africa and Red Sea. In this regard, this study included.
Natural products from marine source are diverse in terms of chemical structures as well as biological activities. In recent year, many bioactive compounds such as terpenoids, steroids and nitrogenous compounds have been extracted from various marine animals like soft coral, sponges and other marine organisms which possess a wide range of pharmacological activities including antitumor, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and antifungal activities.
Additionally, the present study of S. polydactyla soft coral and Higginsia sp. sponge revealed the presence of various natural products such as fatty acids, esters, steroids and nitrogenous compounds through chromatographic isolation. These metabolites contributed to the various biological activities of soft coral and sponge.
The results showed that the aqueous of S.polydactyla showed significant anti-inflammatory activity against COX-2 compared with celecoxib the positive control with followed by the total extract that exhibit moderate anti-inflammatory activity. Additionally, the EtOAc and DCM fraction showed weak anti-inflammatory activity compared with celecoxib as the positive control. On the other hand, the pet. ether fraction of Higginsia sp. showed moderate anti-inflammatory activity against COX-2, followed by the aqueous fraction that exhibit weak anti-inflammatory activity compared with celecoxib the positive control. Moreover, the total extract and EtOAc fraction showed very weak anti-inflammatory activity.
Depending on the aforementioned results, the following could be recommended:
1- Further research and studies on the isolated compounds of S. polydactyla soft coral and Higginsia sp. sponge are needed to determine their biological activities and their mechanisms.
2- More phytochemical studies of the aqueous fraction of S. polydactyla soft coral and Higginsia sp.
sponge are recommended to identify their constituents.
3- We recommend the use of the petroleum ether and DCM fractions as cytotoxic agents, as it could be probably attributed to their steroids and terpenoids contents, and also further studies might be involved.
4- Further antifungal activity is recommended on different fungal strains.
5- Studying the stability and bioavailability of the preparations from S. polydactyla soft coral and Higginsia sp. sponge extract, their derived fractions as well as the isolated single components for manufacturing of new phytochemicals are strongly recommended.