Extraction, Isolation, and Identification of Sesquiterpenes from Laurencia Species

The knowledge about the chemical structure of the secondary metabolites and their relative abundances in algae is very important to several fields of basic and applied research in biology, chemistry, and many other disciplines. The attainment of such knowledge requires special attention to the origin of the organism in question and the methodology applied. Here, we present a protocol to obtain and identify some sesquiterpenes from Laurencia species based on traditional methodologies, such as flash and thin-layer chromatographies, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and gas chromatography mass spectrometry. Red algae of the genus Laurencia are known to produce structurally diverse terpenes; most of them are halogenated compounds with important ecological functions and significant potential for the discovery of new biotechnological applications.