Indonesian marine and its medicinal contribution

Area of Science:

• Marine Biology
• Pharmacology
• Natural Products Chemistry

Background:

• Indonesia harbors the world's densest marine biodiversity, attracting significant global interest.
• Marine organisms have been historically utilized for various purposes by both Indigenous and European populations.
• Over 1000 unique chemicals have been extracted and identified from Indonesian marine life.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review and collate bioprospecting research from Indonesia.
• To create a comprehensive directory of marine natural products and their bioactivities.
• To highlight significant pharmacological discoveries from Indonesian marine macro- and microorganisms.

Main Methods:

• Systematic data curation of bioprospecting manuscripts published between 1988 and 2022.
• Scoping data collection to identify and discuss findings with significant pharmacological activities.
• Review of macroorganisms (sponges, ascidians, algae, etc.) and microorganisms (bacteria, fungi).

Main Results:

• Identified potent compounds including laulimalide (microtubule stabilizer), papuamine alkaloid (doxorubicin complement), and manzamine A (antiplasmodial).
• Highlighted discoveries such as manadoperoxide B (anti-trypanosomal), hippuristanol (mRNA translation disrupter), and (+)-8-hydroxymanzamine A (anti-HIV-1).
• Found potent antibacterial activities from limited marine bacteria cultures.

Conclusions:

• Despite no current commercial drugs, Indonesian marine biodiversity shows vast molecular diversity.
• Understudied marine resources in Indonesia hold immense promise for future drug discovery.
• Further research is warranted to explore and develop novel therapeutics from this region.