ANTI-MALARIAL COMPOUNDS FROM SEA
Indian
scientists have achieved a breakthrough in the search for new anti-malarial
compounds of natural origin to combat different strains of the parasites
responsible for the dreaded disease. An interdisciplinary research team comprising
scientists drawn from four institutes across the country has zeroed in on two
marine organisms that generate chemical compounds with potent anti-malarial
activity.Extracts of more than 200 organisms including different species of
marine fungi, seaweeds, mangroves, sponges, cnidarians, molluscs, echinoderms
and ascidians were screened during the first two phases of the project which
began in 2004. About 25 organisms showed the presence of anti-malarials. The
two most promising candidates are reported to be effective against drug
sensitive and resistant strains of the malarial parasites. One of the organisms
was found to possess as many as 10 anti-malarial compounds. Some of the
promising leads are very effective even at very low concentrations. Efforts are
on to patent the findings.
Named
‘Discovering Anti-malarials from Marine Organisms,' the collaborative project
involves the Centre for Marine Biodiversity under the University of Kerala, the
International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), New
Delhi; Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT), Hyderabad; and the
Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology (IHBT), Palampur. The Department
of Biotechnology, Government of India, is funding the project. The marine
organisms are collected from the seabed, their extracts prepared and subjected
to metabolite fingerprinting at the Centre for Marine Biodiversity to detect
their biological and chemical features. The extracts are then sent to the ICGEB
where they are screened for anti-malarial activity using state-of-the-art
high-throughput (HTP) assays for faster identification of active compounds. While
the structural elucidation (determination of the chemical structure) work is
done at the IICT, the compounds will be synthesised at the IHBT, to produce
biologically active metabolites in the quantities required for further studies
and clinical trials.The University of Kerala has signed a Memorandum of
Understanding with the ICGEB for collaboration and sharing of intellectual
property rights. The organisms are selected through an elaborate process of
underwater observation for marine chemical ecological interactions, followed by
field and laboratory experimentation. The samples have been collected mostly
from the Gulf of Mannar and Palk Bay where coral reefs abound.
“Drug resistance has emerged as one of the
greatest challenges facing malaria control today. Malarial parasites have
developed strategies to evade most of the available treatments. This has
triggered a global effort to identify novel, better and affordable
anti-malarial compounds,” explains K. Padmakumar, Director, Centre for Marine
Biodiversity, and one of the principal investigators of the project, who has
carried out more than 200 scuba dives to collect samples from the seabed. The
potential anti-malarial compounds are often generated by sedentary marine
organisms as a defensive mechanism to deter potential predators or pathogens,
reduce the impact of environmental stress, prevent overgrowth or for protection
from ultraviolet radiation. “What we are essentially doing is to harness the
defensive mechanism of the marine organisms to develop biologically active
metabolites that can be used to fight the malarial parasite,” Dr. Padmakumar
says. During the third phase of the project, scientists will collect more
samples of the two most promising organisms to identify the chemical components
that impart the anti-malarial property. This will be followed by laboratory
synthesis to obviate the need to harvest from Nature.
Prof. John
Kurakar
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