Microbial Blue Bioprospecting: Exploring the Advances of Compounds Post-Discovery

Marine biotechnology is an emerging field of research. There is scientific evidence of the strong potential of a multitude of marine microorganisms in biotechnology, with applications spanning the medical, pharmaceutical, cosmeceutical, nutraceutical and environmental recovery fields. However, despite the discovery of new natural compounds being of wide-ranging benefit, their practical application still remains difficult due to costs and lengthy validation processes. The strength of natural compounds is that, unlike synthetic or already-known compounds, they can have more specific functions and are generally environmentally friendly. This requires, however, that each newly discovered compound be assayed for its toxicity through tests on model cells and organisms. Research should therefore not stop with the simple discovery of new compounds but go beyond with the validation of their efficacy and safety, an issue that remains poorly addressed for products of marine bacterial origin. This review analyses current knowledge on natural compounds of marine bacterial origin, trying to focus on the necessary steps after their discovery, including the investigation of their non-toxicity to model organisms.