Steroidal oligoglycosides from the asteroidea

Starfish extracts have been reported to exhibit a broad spectrum of pharmac o logical properties, which are related to the presence of typical steroida l oligoglycosides. In the animal kingdom, these metabolites have only been found in Echinodermata and particularly in the class Asteroidea (sea stars) . This communication offers a general view of steroid oligoglycoside distribu tion among starfishes and focuses on a number of recent examples, much of t hese from the authors' laboratory, to discuss structural characteristics, b iological activities and methods of investigation.