Medicinal compounds of Marine origin

Abstract

Oceans cover more than seventy percent of the earth’s surface, and it is a well-acknowledged fact now, that life originated in the oceans. Furthermore, the oceans are also the source of chemically inimitable natural products that are mainly accumulated in living organisms. Numerous bioactive compounds of therapeutic interest have been  isolated from marine invertebrates, and some of them have been reported to be of microbial origin. Several of these compounds show pharmacological activities and are  helpful for the invention and discovery of bioactive compounds, primarily for deadly diseases like cancer, acquired immuno-deficiency syndrome, etc., while other compounds have been developed as analgesics or to treat inflammation, etc. The lifesaving drugs are mainly found abundantly in microorganisms, algae and invertebrates, while they are scarce in vertebrates. Modern technologies have opened enormous areas of research for the isolation of biologically active compounds from marine water bodies.

KeyWords: Chemical compounds, seas, wonder drugs, marine invertebrates, oceanic biodiversity

Journal of Pharmaceutical and Allied Sciences, Vol. 7 No. 1 (2010)