Screening for antibiotic, antifungal and antitumoral compounds in natural products extracted from freshwater sponges

The secondary metabolites of marine sponges include many bioactive products (e.g., ara-C) that have found uses in the health field. Even though freshwater sponges share many characteristics with their marine cousins, little is known about their secondary metabolites. This study looks at the effects of the secondary metabolites extracted from three freshwater sponge species on the survival of bacteria, fungi and brine shrimp. It found that none of the extracts were toxic to the bacteria or fungi. Preliminary results did, however, show that all three species tested were active against the brine shrimp. This study suggests that the secondary metabolites of freshwater sponges should be tested more extensively to see if they contain useful bioactive compounds.