Abstract
About 95% of earth living space lies deep below the ocean’s surface and it harbors extraordinary
diversity of marine organisms. Marine biodiversity is an exceptional reservoir of natural
products, bioactive compounds, nutraceuticals and other potential compounds of commercial
value. Timeline for the development of the drug from a plant, synthetic and other alternative
sources is too lengthy. Exploration of the marine environment for potential bioactive compounds
has gained focus and huge opportunity lies ahead for the exploration of such vast resources in the
ocean. Further, the evolution of superbugs with increasing resistance to the currently available
drugs is alarming and it needs coordinated efforts to resolve them. World Health Organization recommends
the need and necessity to develop effective bioactive compounds to combat problems
associated with antimicrobial resistance. Based on these factors, it is imperative to shift the focus
towards the marine environment for potential bioactive compounds that could be utilized to tackle
antimicrobial resistance. Current research trends also indicate the huge strides in research involving
marine environment for drug discovery. The objective of this review article is to provide an
overview of marine resources, recently reported research from marine resources, challenges, future
research prospects in the marine environment.
Keywords:
Antimicrobials, drug discovery, marine, flora, fauna, bioactive compounds.
Graphical Abstract
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