ABSTRACT
Nature is an excellent source of chemically diverse compounds with great therapeutic potential (Bhatnagar and Kim 2010a). Moreover, the natural compounds have a high afnity to the target, which makes them more efcient as drugs. Little loss of entropy when they bind to a protein and their bioavailability further enhance their suitability as successful pharmaceutical agents. Their exibility to acquire different conformations in aqueous and lipophilic environments makes them the compounds of choice over their synthetic counterparts. The hydrosphere harbors a vast variety of marine organisms that are assorted in their physiology and adaptations giving rise to a diversication in natural compounds derived from them. These natural molecules are not only used by themselves but also serve as lead molecules for manipulation by chemical or genetic means (Demain 2009). It is noteworthy that marine sources have also demonstrated tremendous abilities as producers of anticancer compounds and secondary metabolites, which act against infectious diseases and inammation. Blunt et al. (2009) listed that in the marine environment, sponges (37%), coelenterates (21%), and microorganisms (18%) are major sources of biomedical compounds, followed by algae (9%), echinoderms (6%), tunicates (6%), molluscs (2%), bryozoans (1%), and so on (Blunt et al. 2009). However, marine microorganisms have not been given the attention they deserve, and a very limited insight into the capabilities and bioactive potential of marine microorganisms is available in literature to date. Extensive reviews on marine pharmacology have been published in the past encompassing the antihelminthic, antibacterial, anticoagulant, antifungal, anti-inammatory, antimalarial, antiprotozoan, antituberculosis, antiviral, and other miscellaneous mechanisms of action of marine natural products (Mayer et al. 2009).
