The aim of the present study is to find out the presence of bioactive compounds in sea anemones and their significance in the biomedical arena. Sea anemones have potent biomolecules especially on their tentacles. Four species of Actinid sea anemones, such as Stoichactis giganteum, Stoichactis haddoni and two Heteractis species belonging to genus Heteractis, were purchased from aquarium traders for rearing clown fishes in Marine Research Aquarium for six months. The crude polypeptide compound was extracted using EtOH, centrifuged and lyophilized. Partial purification of crude samples was done by dialysis through dialysis membrane (MWCO 3500) against distilled water. The partial purified samples were subjected to bioassay (Hemolytic). Purified fractions were also examined by the Infra red spectral analysis for the identification of their molecules. In the case of hemolytic assay, the samples induced moderate levels of hemolysis on chicken, sheep and human blood. The presence of polypeptides was identified using the IR spectral uniqueness at 400 to 4000 cm^_1.

Coelenterates are simple metazoans, which are essentially composed of two epithelial layers such as ectoderm and endoderm and one internal cavity called coelenteron, which opens only at the mouth. Most of them possess tentacles equipped with stinging organelles (nematocysts) containing toxins. The phylum Coelenterata is subdivided into three classes (hydrozoa, scyphozoa and anthozoa), including about 9000 known species of which 70 are reported to be injurious to man (Russel, 1965). The investigation of their toxins began with Richet (1903) extracting two toxic compounds, congestin and thalassin from the tentacles of the sea anemone Anemonia sulcatai.

Since then the isolation and characterization of biologically active compounds from coelenterates, especially sea anemones have become subjects of interest because of their potential in the biomedical arena. The paper aims to briefly summarize the most significant efforts which have been achieved up to now on the isolation and characterization of biologically active compounds from the four different species of coelenterates by adopting the method described by Beress and Zwick (1980). The isolated product was further subjected to FT-IR spectral analysis and also studied for its hemolytic activity (Paniprasad and Venkateshvaran, 1997).

Isolation and Hemolytic Activity of Active-Polypeptides from Captive Sea Anemone, coelenterates, FT-IR spectral analysis , stinging organelles, nematocysts, ectoderm and endoderm, hydrozoa, scyphozoa, anthozoa, congestin and thalassin, centrifuged and lyophilized.