ROLE OF MARINE ORGANISMS IN PRODUCTION OF BIOMEDICAL COMPOUNDS Sahana Ghosh Postgraduate student of Asutosh College, Calcutta University, Department of Zoology Email id: sahanaghosh14@gmail.com Abstract:
Life has started in the sea and Earth’s surface is mostly covered by water. Marine biotechnology which is also known as “blue technology” Is an area which creates products and processes from marine organisms by the application of biotechnology. Many of these products have pharmacological activities and are are useful for the production of various bioactive compounds. For many years, extracts from various marine organisms have been used as medicine like for the preparation of many antibiotics, antiviral and anticancerous drugs. Marine organisms like marine bacteria, marine cyanobacteria, seaweeds, sponges, cnidarians, molluscs,tunicates,etc. are used in production of biomedicines. Marine derived pharmaceuticals are used as sources of chemical diversity in drug discovery programs. The current review describes how marine biotechnology plays an important role in developing new products particularly in the pharmaceutical industry.
Introduction: Marine biotechnology uses marine organisms to produce various bioactive compounds. By the application of biotechnological techniques, various medicines have been obtained from marine plants and animals. Ocean is known as “mother of origin of life” and it contains over 80% of world’s plants and animal species. In recent years, many bioactive compounds have been extracted from various marine bacteria, cyanobacteria, seaweeds, sponges, cnidarians, molluscs, tunicates, etc. Marine derived pharmaceuticals are used as sources of chemical diversity in drug discovery programs. Biomedicine produced from these Marine organisms are used for deadly diseases like cancer, acquired immunedeficiency syndrome(AIDS), arthritis, etc. The objective of this review is to highlight some of the recent developments and findings in the area of marine biotechnology with special reference to the biomedical potential of marine organisms.
MARINE ORGANISMS
MARINE BACTERIA • Gram-positive bacteria • Alteromonas
Marine organisms which are used for production of bioactive compounds: Marine bacteria: Macrolactin A-F (secondary metabolites) has been isolated from an unusual grampositive marine bacteria. Macrolactin A inhibits B16-F10 murine melanoma cells in in-vitro assays and also inhibits mammalian herpes simplex virus (type I and II). It also protects T-lymphocytes against human immune-deficiency virus (HIV) replication. A microbial metabolite has been developed from another bacteria Alteromonas which has anti-HIV potential which inhibits reverse transcriptase. Marine seaweeds: Red alga, Sphaerococcus coronopifolius has been found to have antibacterial activity. Green alga, Ulva lactuca possess an anti-inflammatory compound. Portieria hornemannii produces anti-tumor compounds. Marine sponges: Theonella has been found to produce Halichondrin-B, a polyether macrolide which has a potential to act as anti-cancer agent. An aminoacridine alkaloid, dercitin, has been isolated from Dercitus. This possesses cytotoxic activities in animal studies and is also active against B16 Melanoma cells and lung carcinoma. Marine Cnidarians: Palytoxin, one of the most potent known toxins, is produced from Palythoa species. It is useful tool for probing cellular recognition processes because it stimulates arachidonic acid metabolism and downregulates the response to epidermal growth factor by activating sodium pump in the signal transduction pathway using sodium as the second messenger. The stony coral Montipora has been found to yield three diacetylene, one of them is the most potent cytotoxin towards a range of tumor cell-lines. Marine molluscs: Neosurugatoxin isolated from Babylonia japonica has been found useful in characterizing two classes of acetylcholine receptors. Dolastatin is a cytotoxic peptide which has been derived from Dolabella auricularia. This peptide is an antineoplastic substance. Chromodorolide-A, isolated from Chromocloris cavae has in-vitro antimicrobial and cytotoxic activities.
MARINE SEAWEEDS • Sphaerococcus coronopifolius • Ulva lactuca • Portieria hornemannii
MARINE SPONGES • Theonella • Dercitus
MARINE MOLLUSCS • Babylonia japonica • Dolabella auricularia • Chromocloris cavae
MARINE CNIDARIANS • Polythoa • Montipora
Conclusion: In conclusion it can be said that various bioactive compounds can be produced from marine organisms by the application of biotechnological techniques. Various marine organisms are there like marine bacteria, seaweeds, sponges, cnidarians, molluscs, etc. from which these bioactive compounds have been extracted. These compounds have antibacterial, antiviral and cytoxic properties and are used in the treatment of deadly human diseases like cancer and AIDS. There lies the application and advancement of marine biotechnology in the discovery of biomedicines. Scientists and researchers from all over the world have extracted various drugs from these marine organisms for the treatment of such diseases in recent years.
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