Aquaculture of Pseudopterogorgia elisabethae and induction of pseudopterosins

The pseudopterosins are a class of diterpene glycosides isolated from the Caribbean sea whip, Pseudopterogorgia elisabethae. Pseudopterosins A-D possess potent anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties (ED50 ca. 3.0 mg/kg). There is a large demand in the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries for pseudopterosin derivatives and presently, the only source of these chemicals is from wild-collected gorgonians. Preliminary experiments were performed to develop a reliable, cost-effective production method of the pseudopterosins in order to avoid large-scale harvesting. We exposed the gorgonians to various forms of "stress" in an attempt to increase the amount of pseudopterosins produced. We have also evaluated the feasibility of raising Pseudopterogorgia elisabethae in an aquaculture setting by studying their growth rates in different environments. Our studies indicate that aquaculture used with some simple induction methods can allow for the commercialization of this important biochemical resource.