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Probing the Therapeutic Potential of Marine Phyla by SPE Extraction

Authors :
Alejandro Moreiras-Figueruelo
Genoveffa Nuzzo
Christian Galasso
Clementina Sansone
Fabio Crocetta
Valerio Mazzella
Carmela Gallo
Giusi Barra
Angela Sardo
Antonella Iuliano
Emiliano Manzo
Giuliana d’Ippolito
Marte Albrigtsen
Jeanette H. Andersen
Adrianna Ianora
Angelo Fontana
Source :
Marine Drugs, Vol 19, Iss 11, p 640 (2021)
Publication Year :
2021
Publisher :
MDPI AG, 2021.

Abstract

The marine environment is potentially a prolific source of small molecules with significant biological activities. In recent years, the development of new chromatographic phases and the progress in cell and molecular techniques have facilitated the search for marine natural products (MNPs) as novel pharmacophores and enhanced the success rate in the selection of new potential drug candidates. However, most of this exploration has so far been driven by anticancer research and has been limited to a reduced number of taxonomic groups. In this article, we report a test study on the screening potential of an in-house library of natural small molecules composed of 285 samples derived from 57 marine organisms that were chosen from among the major eukaryotic phyla so far represented in studies on bioactive MNPs. Both the extracts and SPE fractions of these organisms were simultaneously submitted to three different bioassays—two phenotypic and one enzymatic—for cytotoxic, antidiabetic, and antibacterial activity. On the whole, the screening of the MNP library selected 11 potential hits, but the distribution of the biological results showed that SPE fractionation increased the positive score regardless of the taxonomic group. In many cases, activity could be detected only in the enriched fractions after the elimination of the bulky effect due to salts. On a statistical basis, sponges and molluscs were confirmed to be the most significant source of cytotoxic and antimicrobial products, but other phyla were found to be effective with the other therapeutic targets.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
16603397
Volume :
19
Issue :
11
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
Marine Drugs
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.f6f7bd68349546a7b50cb53e71f6c882
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.3390/md19110640