Marine Bioprospecting: Bioactive Compounds from Cnidarians and Molluscs - A Review

Abstract

Mankind has been using the natural products from plants and microorganisms that have traditionally provided the pharmaceutical industry in its quest for new drugs and medicines. In a rough estimate, more than20,000 plant species are being utilized in traditional medicines worldwide.In recent years, the research in the natural marketing is increasingly turning to marine animals, plants and microbes as source organisms. The oceans with their innumerable species diversity are a rich source of marine bioresources. The marine environment contains a huge number of organisms with unique biological properties which are underutilized biological resources. Drugs from aquatic weeds, algae, other marine organisms, terrestrial plants and animals are being developed and are crucial need of time with a priority for aquaculture, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries, among others. In this backdrop, this article gives an overview of the current status of the screening of bioactive compounds from marine animals. Although the screening of marine resources has been somewhat limited till date, selected bioactive from marine fauna have started appearing in the scientific literature. Therefore, the aim of this review is to understand the screening, new models and mechanisms of action of bioactive compounds from marine animals to bring solutions for the need of bioresources for the mankind.