The oceans have been recently described to be the "Medicine Chest of the New Millennium". There is a gold rush amongst pharma and biotech companies to tap this new found resource. Traditionally many medicines have their origin from plants and animals that occur on land. However, most of the plants and animals on land have been discovered and many of the curative properties of the chemicals, they contain, have been found. Marine plants and animals largely remain unexplored because these organisms are not easily accessible, the average depth of the earth’s oceans being 3.8 km! Naturally, there is no history of use of marine organisms in traditional herbal medicine anywhere in the world.
Marine organisms, in relatively shallow waters near the shores, can be collected by scuba diving. This is being practiced in nearly every coastal country whether rich or poor. The more developed among them are now in the process of expanding their undersea programmes and use submersibles to collect marine plants and animals.
This search for new drugs in marine organisms aptly called "Marine Bioprospecting" akin to the prospecting for gold and other minerals on land, is "the dawn" if BT, pharma and IT are considered to be "the sunrise" industries.
A strong reason to find drugs in the marine plants and animals is that many organisms spend their life anchored to the seabed and have poisonous spines, claws and nails to ward off preys like fishes. These poisonous toxins are the most sought after, as cures against cancer and other diseases. It is believed that the same method by which these toxins are able to harm the predators without harming the organisms itself, could be used to treat cancer. For example, killing cancerous cells selectively while not harming healthy cells, or killing disease causing bacteria without killing the host.
Secondly, many molecules found in marine organisms have totally different patterns of construction from the molecules of medicinal value found in terrestrial plants and animals. These marine compounds can lead to new curative methods in the human body, and thus opening up the possibility of treating drug resistance diseases like the tuberculosis.
The drug Ara-a, used all over the world for treating herpes and other viral infections and commercially manufactured by Parke-Davies and others, was originally isolated from a sea sponge. Another drug Ara-C also isolated from a sea sponge being manufactured by Pharmacia-Upjohn is well known anticancer agent. Estee Lauder’s facecream, Resilience, contains extracts of feathery sea fan and claims anti skin ageing properties.
Many ocean derived drugs are under various stages of clinical and pre-clinical trails by pharmaceutical companies and government organisations all over the world. Astra Zeneca, the pharmaceutical giant, is involved intensely in marine bioprospecting.
Martek BioSciences (USA) produces some polyunsaturated acids (DHA and ARA) essential to the proper development of grey matter in the brain and retina of eyes in infants. Nutraceuticals containing these two ingredients have been recommended by the World Health Organisation.
Marine Bio-prospecting in India began in the early nineties as the National Project on Development of Potential Drugs from the Sea. The Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow is the coordinating body together with several other collaborating institutes and universities. Organisms from both the long Indian coastline, particularly the mangroves of the Sundarbans, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands etc are identified, screened and specimens stored at the National Repository, at The National Institute of Oceanography, Goa.
Some chemicals compounds have been identified which are anti-oxidant, have cholesterol and blood sugar lowering properties and can even cure diarrhoea. These are in different stages of clinical and pre-clinical trails of drug development.
In the private sector, the Hyderabad based Shanta Marine Biotechnologies now known as Samudra Biophrama, is setting up a marine biotech plant at Tiruchendur, near Chennai, which will produce beta-carotene by large scale culturing of marine microbes. (Beta-carotene is much in demand now as an antioxidant and as food supplement for functioning of retina). A marine biotechnology park would be set up near Mandapam, Tamil Nadu. The biotech policy of Tamil Nadu also mentions marine biotechnology as one of the main thrust areas.
A marine biotech park in 218 acres of land is being set up at Vishakhapatnam, where Celgen Biologicals is setting up India’s first facility for the production of the essential fatty acid DHA. It would also produce beta carotene. Biogenus Ltd. would invest $ 20 million to set up a marine biotech research station and bacterial culture and enzyme plant in the park.
Maharashtra’s biotechnology policy announced recently includes efforts to exploit the marine organisms along its coastline; Karnataka Millennium Biotech Policy, 2000 plans to set up a marine biotech park at Karwar to promote marine biotech. Marine bioprospecting is a major theme of Kerala’s biotechnology policy. The Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Ernakulam, would be the nodal centre to coordinate the R&D efforts with other academic and research institutions of the state. For example, the Bharathidasan University, Trichy hosts the National Facility for marine cynobacteria. The Biotechnology Park to be set up at Cochin would have marine biotechnology as the thrust area. Orissa draft biotechnology policy 2005 has plans for a marine biotechnology park at Chilka Lake, one of the largest lagoons in India famous for its prawns.
There will be huge employment opportunity in these industries and it is necessary to create a reserve talent pool in this area. The starting of post graduate courses in marine biotechnology at the Andhra and Goa Universities is a right step in this direction by the academia. Nearer home, the Punjab Technical University, Jalandhar, is also planning to start courses on marine biotechnology.
The possibility of obtaining drugs and food additives from marine plants and animals is just unveiling its huge economic potential worldwide. India is blessed with a long coastline with shallow tropical seas surrounding most part of the continent. The time is ripe for the Indian pharmaceutical and food supplement industry to dive into the oceans and reap the benefits which this huge natural marine laboratory offers.
The writer is Assistant Professor at the Indo Global College of Engineering, Abhipur (Ropar)
