<p>
The starfish are invertebrates belonging to the class
Asteroidea, phylum Echinodermata. Following the classification of
Blacke (1987), the class Asteroidea including Brisingida,
Forcipulatida, Notomyotida, Paxillosida, Spinulosida, Valvatida, and
Velatida. From the 1997 to 2007, the aproximately 98 starfish species
were investigated on the chemical conponents as the report of Guang
Dong et al. The secondary metabolites from the starfish are
characterized by a diversity of polar steroids, including
polyhydroxylated steroids and steroid glycosides. There are two main
structural groups of steroid glycosides from the starfish, namely
asterosaponins and glycosylated polyhydroxysteroids. Those
compounds showed several biological properties, such as cytotoxic,
hemolytic, and anti-microbial effects.
In the Vietnam sea, the starfish belong to the phylum
Echinodermata, which was known as the 350 species of 58 phylums,
and are divided into five classes Holothuroidea (sea cucumbers),
Asteroidea (starfishes), Echinoidea (sea urchins and sand dollars),
Crinoidea (crinoids and sea lilies), and Ophiuroidea (brittle stars and
basket stars). Up to date, the chemical constituents and biological
acivities of 9 starfish species abundant in the Vietnam sea were
studied, including Archaster typicus, Asterina batheri, Asteropsis
carinifera, Astropecten polyacanthus, Astropecten monacanthus,
Protoreaster nodosus, Acanthaster planci, Linckia laevigata, and
Anthenea aspera. Their structures were determined as the steroid and
steroid glycoside which displayed the cytotoxic activity and antiinlammatory
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