ABSTRACT

This chapter provides the diagnostic features and pharmaceutical compounds along with their chemical structure and activities of 400 species of marine plants. The species of marine plants include Lyngbya bouillonii, Lyngbya majuscule, Leptolyngbya fragilis, Symploca hydnoides, Spirulina platensis, Avrainvillea longicaulis, Caulerpa lentifera, and Caulerpa racemosa. They also include Codium amplivesiculatum, Codium arabicum, Halimeda incrassate, Penicillus dumetosus, Rhipocephalus phoenix, Tydemania expeditionis, Rhizoclonium riparium, and Dictyosphaeria cavernosa. Lyngbya majuscule spread in warm and temperate waters. It may float at intertidal depths until 2 m, or attach to Halimeda discoidea, coral fragments, and other hard substrates. The compound apratoxin D of this species has shown cytotoxic activity against H-460 human lung cancer cells, with an IC50 value of 2.6 NM. Lyngbya sordida grows in fresh water, brackish water, and at high saline areas. The compound apratoxin D isolated from this species showed potent in vitro cytotoxicity against H-460 human lung cancer cells with an IC50 value of 2.6 NM.