Promising bioactive compounds from the marine environment and their potential effects on various diseases

• Published in: Journal of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology 2022-01, Vol.20 (1), p.14-38, Article 14
• Main Authors: Karthikeyan, Akash, Joseph, Abey, Nair, Baiju G
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Bioactive compounds; Health aspects; Marine natural products; Medical research; Medicine, Experimental; Novel drugs; Plant metabolites; Review; Sea-water; Secondary metabolites
• ISSN: 1687-157X; 2090-5920
• DOI: 10.1186/s43141-021-00290-4

Background The marine environment hosts a wide variety of species that have evolved to live in harsh and challenging conditions. Marine organisms are the focus of interest due to their capacity to produce biotechnologically useful compounds. They are promising biocatalysts for new and sustainable industrial processes because of their resistance to temperature, pH, salt, and contaminants, representing an opportunity for several biotechnological applications. Encouraged by the extensive and richness of the marine environment, marine organisms' role in developing new therapeutic benefits is heading as an arable field. Main body of the abstract There is currently much interest in biologically active compounds derived from natural resources, especially compounds that can efficiently act on molecular targets, which are involved in various diseases. Studies are focused on bacteria and fungi, isolated from sediments, seawater, fish, algae, and most marine invertebrates such as sponges, mollusks, tunicates, coelenterates, and crustaceans. In addition to marine macro-organisms, such as sponges, algae, or corals, marine bacteria and fungi have been shown to produce novel secondary metabolites (SMs) with specific and intricate chemical structures that may hold the key to the production of novel drugs or leads. The marine environment is known as a rich source of chemical structures with numerous beneficial health effects. Presently, several lines of studies have provided insight into biological activities and neuroprotective effects of marine algae, including antioxidant, anti-neuroinflammatory, cholinesterase inhibitory activity, and neuronal death inhibition. Conclusion The application of marine-derived bioactive compounds has gained importance because of their therapeutic uses in several diseases. Marine natural products (MNPs) display various pharmaceutically significant bioactivities, including antibiotic, antiviral, neurodegenerative, anticancer, or anti-inflammatory properties. The present review focuses on the importance of critical marine bioactive compounds and their role in different diseases and highlights their possible contribution to humanity.