Marine Microbial Biosurfactin

Abstract

The marine biosphere offers a wealth of flora and fauna and represents a vast natural resource of imperative functional commercial-grade products. Marine bacterial natural products are predicted to become an important resource for drug discovery and enzyme mining. Among the various bioactive compounds, biosurfactants (BS ) are attracting major interest and attention due to their structural and functional diversity. New techniques for the isolation of these marine bacteria are opening the possibility for the isolation of novel and potential products and processes from them. This will also help to improve our understanding of marine bacterial physiology, genetics, biochemistry, and ecology in order to provide model systems for research and production systems for commerce, and to contribute to understanding and conservation of the seas. The recent discovery of new secondary metabolites from novel bacteria and new approaches for accessing gene products from marine bacteria are contributing to the increasing development of the field. Here, we discuss the role and applications of marine microbial biosurfactants, focusing on applications for cosmeceutical and nutraceutical industry perspectives. Nutraceuticals are food products that provide health as well as medical benefits, including the prevention and treatment of disease. Few nutraceuticals are being used as pharmaceuticals and a number of others are being used and purchased by the general public as self-medication. This article outlines biosurfactants as a novel nutraceutical with their therapeutic and cosmeceutical applications.