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Updated: Jun 12, 2026

Prospecting Microbial Strains for Bioremediation and Probiotics Development for Metaorganism Research and Preservation
Published on: October 31, 2019
[Polar steroids from Solaster endeca starfish and the physiological activity of polar steroids from three starfish
E V Levina1, D L Aminin, S N Koval'chuk
1Pacific Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Far East Division, Russian Academy of Sciences, pr. 100-Letiya Vladivostoka 159, Vladivostok, 690022 Russia. levina@piboc.dvo.ru
Abstract:
Four polyhydroxylated steroids, new (20R)-5alpha-cholestan-3beta,6alpha,8,15alpha,24,26-hexaol (I) and known (20R,25S)-5alpha-cholestan-3beta6alpha,8,15beta,16beta,26-hexaol, (20R,25S)-5alpha-cholestan-3beta,6alpha,15beta,16beta,26-pentaol, and marthasterone sulfate were isolated from the Solaster endeca starfish inhabiting the Sea of Okhotsk and characterized. Steroid (I) contains a 24,26-dihydroxylated side chain, which is uncommon for starfish polyols. The isolated steroids and related metabolites from two starfish species of the Evasterias genus (in total, 15 compounds) were weakly cytotoxic in a human HeLa cell culture and some of them were inhibitors of nonspecific esterase from mouse Ehrlich carcinoma. The effects of these compounds on the p53 protein activity were studied in a yeast two-hybrid test system and both inhibitors and stimulators of this activity were found among them.
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