ISSN 2736-173X
African Journal of Malaria and Tropical Diseases ISSN 2736-173X Vol. 12 (2), pp. 001-006, February, 2024. Available online at www.internationalscholarsjournals.org © International Scholars Journals
Review
Exploring Marine Sponges for Malaria Treatment: A Review of Bioactive Compounds
S. Ravichandran1*, K. Kathiresan1 and Hemalatha Balaram2
1Centre of Advanced Study in Marine Biology (Annamalai University),Parangipettai – 608 502, India.
2Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Jakkur, Bangalore- 560 064, India.
Accepted 1 November, 2023
Malaria, which is caused by multiplication of the protozoan parasite Plasmodium falciparum in erythrocytes, is a major health problem in many southern countries. There is an urgent need to discover new antimalarials, due to the spread of chloroquinine resistance and the limited number of available drugs. Among marine invertebrates, Porifera (sponges) are potential source of novel bioactive compounds to provide future drugs against malaria, cancer and a range of viral diseases. A number of sponge-derived antimalarials have been discovered during the last decade. The compounds are mostly nitrogen containing ones (proteins, pyridines, tyrosine-based metabolites, alkaloids, indoles and amides) and also non-nitrogenous compounds (terpenes, polyketides and polysaccharides).
Key words: Malaria, Plasmodium falciparum, porifera, marine sponges, bioactive compounds, antimalarial compounds.