Anti-cancer bioactive compounds in marine organisms in Oman seas

Muscat: A research team at Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) has found that chemical compounds produced by Omani marine organisms can be used in anti-cancer treatments.
The study, headed by Dr Sergey Dobretsov of the Centre of Excellence in Marine Biotechnology at SQU, suggests that chemical compounds produced by Omani marine organisms have cytotoxic properties and can be used for anti-cancer treatments.
The results of the study have been recently published in the Sultan Qaboos University Medical Journal.
Dr Dobretsov said that it has been shown that these organisms create unique bioactive compounds that can be used by pharmaceutical industries.
The first marine-derived anti-viral compound was isolated from a sponge in the 1950s. This was considered the starting point for the search for "drugs from the sea".
Since then, more than 15,000 new anti-microbial, anti-viral, anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory compounds from marine organisms have been discovered.
“The information about bioactive compounds from marine organisms inhabiting the Arabian Sea and the Sea of Oman is limited. Only a few studies have been done and a limited number of bioactive compounds have been isolated,” Dr Dobretsov added.
During this collaborative project, SQU scientists from two colleges, Agricultural and Marine Sciences and Medicine and Health Sciences, at University Hospital and the Centre of Excellence in Marine Biotechnology, collected marine fungi, bacteria, sponges, sea weeds, soft corals, tunicates, bryozoa, and sea cucumbers from Omani waters.
These organisms were selected because of their high biotechnological potential, which was validated during the preliminary study.
Dr Dobretsov’s research team has extracted and purified bioactive compounds using different chromatography methods and instruments, in cooperation with scientists from Germany and the United States.
“Several undergraduate and graduate Omani students have also been trained,” Dr. Dobretsov added.
In the future, investigators are planning to continue studying the anti-cancer compounds derived from Omani marine organisms.