Marine cyanobacteria-derived serotonin receptor 2C active fraction induces psychoactive behavioral effects in mice

Abstract

Context—Marine cyanobacteria offer a robust resource for natural products drug discovery due to the secondary metabolites they produce.

Objective—To identify novel cyanobacterial compounds that exhibit CNS psychoactive effects.

Materials and methods—Cyanobacteria were collected from Las Perlas Archipelago, Panama and subjected to dichloromethane/methanol extraction and fractionation by column chromatography before being screened for affinity against a panel of CNS targets. A 50:50 ethyl acetate:methanol fraction of one cyanobacterial extract (2064H) was subjected to HPLC and the major peak was isolated (2064H3). At a dose of 20 μg per animal, 2064H and 2064H3 were tested in mice using behavioral assays that included the forced swim, open field, and formalin tests.