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WINTER 2012
oral reefs — some of our
planet’s most spectacular
yet fragile centers of life
— have an unlikely and
powerful new ally:
the pharmaceutical
industry. As the
effectiveness of antibiotics
declines and doctors seek more
reliable and potent medications
for their patients, researchers
are looking to the inhabitants of
coral reefs for compounds that
can be used to combat a long
list of diseases including cancer,
Alzheimer’s, leukemia and AIDS.
Environmentalists have long
advocated conservation of coral
reefs for reasons ranging from
preserving marine biodiversity to
generating tourism. But the fact
that coral reefs could provide an
arsenal of miracle drugs is one of
the most compelling arguments
to date.
An Enormous PhArmAcEuticAl VistA
According to chemists at Cornell University Medical Center, the ocean has
tremendous pharmaceutical potential, in part because it contains billions
of organisms that do not exist on land. In a recent survey conducted by the
National Cancer Institute, 2 percent of terrestrial specimens studied contained
new compounds, while almost half of the marine samples revealed chemical
novelties. Currently, more than half of all cancer research is focused on finding
cures from marine sources.
Coral reefs are particularly valuable storehouses of genetic material; estimates of
the number of plants and animals living in reef ecosystems range from 600,000 to
more than 9 million species. According to Shirley Pomponi, executive director of
the Cooperative Institute for Ocean Exploration, Research and Technology, “Coral
reefs have enormous biodiversity, and as such they hold unlimited potential for
the discovery of chemicals that can be developed into drugs. Coral reefs are now
being discovered even in the deep ocean. These resources are totally untapped, and
marine drug research is constantly evolving.”
thE history of mArinE PhArmAcology
Humans have looked to the sea for medicines for thousands of years. The
ancient Phoenicians, Egyptians, Greeks and Romans all documented their use of
the ocean as a source of elements that could promote health and cure disease.
Marine plants were considered to have medicinal value as far back as 5,000 years
ago; both the Japanese and Chinese used them to treat goiter and other glandular
diseases. The early Romans used seaweeds to treat burns, rashes and wounds,
and more recently British sailors ate red marine algae to prevent scurvy.
In modern times, medical researchers have made many remarkable
discoveries by studying marine life. The first landmark breakthrough
occurred in the early 1950s when Werner Bergmann extracted and isolated
antiviral substances from a Caribbean sponge he found off the coast of
Florida. Chemicals from this sponge led to the development of several drugs
used to fight cancer, leukemia, HIV and herpes.
In the following decades, research confirmed many marine organisms
contain antibiotics, polysaccharides, steroids, toxins and other substances that
have helped in the management of a range of human diseases. As researchers
look ahead, the inhabitants of coral reefs offer new directions to proceed in the
fight against major diseases like cancer. Reef species are also believed to contain
compounds that will be used alleviate or prevent a variety of other conditions
including psoriasis, arthritis, pain, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, ulcers,
bacterial infections, wounds, burns, goiter and glandular diseases, bleeding and
even constipation and sunburn.
Pharmacy
B Y H I L L A R Y V I D E R S , P H . D .
S T E P H E N F R I N K
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