Antiviral treatment of hepatitis B virus-transgenic mice by a marine organism, Styela plicata

Developing natural marine products for treating liver diseases

In recent years, marine-derived bioactive compounds have gained increasing attention because of their higher biodiversity vs land-derived compounds. A number of marine-derived compounds are proven to improve lipid metabolism, modulate the gut microbiota, and possess anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antibacterial, antiviral, and antitumor activities. With the increasing understanding of the molecular landscape underlying the pathogenesis of chronic liver diseases, interest has spiked in developing new therapeutic drugs and medicine food homology from marine sources for the prevention and treatment of liver diseases.

Immense essence of excellence: marine microbial bioactive compounds

Oceans have borne most of the biological activities on our planet. A number of biologically active compounds with varying degrees of action, such as anti-tumor, anti-cancer, anti-microtubule, anti-proliferative, cytotoxic, photo protective, as well as antibiotic and antifouling properties, have been isolated to date from marine sources. The marine environment also represents a largely unexplored source for isolation of new microbes (bacteria, fungi, actinomycetes, microalgae-cyanobacteria and diatoms) that are potent producers of bioactive secondary metabolites. Extensive research has been done to unveil the bioactive potential of marine microbes (free living and symbiotic) and the results are amazingly diverse and productive. Some of these bioactive secondary metabolites of microbial origin with strong antibacterial and antifungal activities are being intensely used as antibiotics and may be effective against infectious diseases such as HIV, conditions of multiple bacterial infections (penicillin, cephalosporines, streptomycin, and vancomycin) or neuropsychiatric sequelae. Research is also being conducted on the general aspects of biophysical and biochemical properties, chemical structures and biotechnological applications of the bioactive substances derived from marine microorganisms, and their potential use as cosmeceuticals and nutraceuticals. This review is an attempt to consolidate the latest studies and critical research in this field, and to showcase the immense competence of marine microbial flora as bioactive metabolite producers. In addition, the present review addresses some effective and novel approaches of procuring marine microbial compounds utilizing the latest screening strategies of drug discovery.

In vitro evaluation of marine-microorganism extracts for anti-viral activity

Viral-induced infectious diseases represent a major health threat and their control remains an unachieved goal, due in part to the limited availability of effective anti-viral drugs and measures. The use of natural products in drug manufacturing is an ancient and well-established practice. Marine organisms are known producers of pharmacological and anti-viral agents. In this study, a total of 20 extracts from marine microorganisms were evaluated for their antiviral activity. These extracts were tested against two mammalian viruses, herpes simplex virus (HSV-1) and vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV), using Vero cells as the cell culture system, and two marine virus counterparts, channel catfish virus (CCV) and snakehead rhabdovirus (SHRV), in their respective cell cultures (CCO and EPC). Evaluation of these extracts demonstrated that some possess antiviral potential. In sum, extracts 162M(4), 258M(1), 298M(4), 313(2), 331M(2), 367M(1) and 397(1) appear to be effective broad-spectrum antivirals with potential uses as prophylactic agents to prevent infection, as evident by their highly inhibitive effects against both virus types. Extract 313(2) shows the most potential in that it showed significantly high inhibition across all tested viruses. The samples tested in this study were crude extracts; therefore the development of antiviral application of the few potential extracts is dependent on future studies focused on the isolation of the active elements contained in these extracts.

Toxicity and biodegradation of the LAS surfactant 1-(p-sulfophenyl)nonane in presence of the ascidian Styela plicata

The main objective of this study, within development of engineering solutions for coastal areas depuration, was to establish the role of the benthic macro-organisms in the biodegradation of the detergents in marine environment and to estimate the toxicity of these substances for a particular marine species: the ascidian Styela plicata. The experimental studies undertaken in aquarium with seawater enriched in a pure lynear alkylbenzene sulfonate (LAS), the 1-(p-sulfophenyl)nonane (1C9-LAS), showed that the degradation was two times more fast in presence of the S. plicata, than of the only marine bacteria. The toxicity of this pollutant was also determined. This study demonstrates that the ascidia S. plicata can be a potential biomediator for the surfactant 1C9-LAS, and it can be used to design a pilot project, to bioremediate harbours and the coastal areas interested from the urban pollution.