Marine Natural Products as Tools for Discovering New Antimicrobial Targets

The discovery of drugs for human ailments has been greatly attributed to nature ever since the existence of mankind. Continuous isolation of metabolites from terrestrial resources leads to a bargaining effect on the synthesis of novel compounds. Remarkably, marine biotope, one of nature’s resources, accommodates approximately 75% of the global surface. To acclimatize in a marine environment characterized by unique circumstances that diverge from the individuals present in other habitation, marine organisms occasionally accumulate structurally distinctive bioactive secondary metabolites that are deficient in terrestrial organisms. Marine metabolites are currently employed as the key components in pharmacological research and drug discovery, acting as drugs and active lead molecules towards the development of novel antimicrobials. Numerous marine metabolites that are derived from macro and microorganisms have attained the level of clinical assessment. Hence, marine environments are considered tools for discovering new antimicrobial agents as they comprise a vast untapped reservoir of metabolite diversity.

Keywords: Antibiotic resistance, Marine biotope, Marine drugs, Marine metabolomics, Secondary metabolites.