Metabolite Profiling and Bioactivities of the Solvent Fractions Derived from a Marine Clam Anadara compacta

Background: The marine clam Anadara compacta is a common bivalve mollusk found in many coastal regions in the Philippines but is underutilized despite its nutritional value. The study aimed to determine the bioactive potential of A. compacta for its optimum utilization as a promising novel source of metabolites with pharmaceutical potential. Methods: The proposed approach in the profiling of metabolites included solvent extraction, fractionation by C18 column chromatography and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LCMS)- guided profiling of the active fractions. Biological investigations comprised cytotoxicity, antibacterial and antioxidant activity assessments. Results: The methanol solvent fractions obtained from the water layer of A. compacta contained various chemical constituents namely alkaloids, terpenoids, linear and cyclic peptides, cytotoxic macrolides, among others based on LC-MS analysis. The 100% methanol fraction showed the highest inhibitory effect against MCF-7 human breast cancer cells among other fractions with an IC50 value of 118.57 ± 0.14 μg/mL. Moreover, the fractions also inhibited the growth of Grampositive and Gram-negative bacterial strains tested and showed strong antioxidant potential as a 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) scavenger. Conclusion: Our findings demonstrated the effectiveness and complementary nature of LC-MS metabolites profiling in conjunction with bioassays for the identification of bioactive constituents in the marine clam A. compacta. The bioactive fractions from A. compacta may be utilized as useful ingredients for developing pharmaceutical and nutraceutical applications.