The Marine Environment: An Uncharted Resource for Drugs

There is a strong “eco-bio-chemo-diversity” rationale to search the marine environment with its unique abiotic and biotic habitats for potential drug leads for serious pathological conditions such as cancer, infectious diseases, neurodegeneration and pain. Compounds produced by marine invertebrate organisms and their associated microorganisms that thrive successfully in five unique types of marine ecosystems are presented here as promising candidates for drug development. Marine organisms have evolved these chemicals to mediate specific biological and ecological interactions for their growth, development, defense and survival.