Sponges – A Source for Natural Inhibitors
Swarna Oli & AK Hentschel-Humeida (Universität Würzburg)
In recent years, a number of potential therapeutic agents have been isolated form marine and it is an important source for the search of new drugs.Marine sponges in the family plakinidae are known to be rich sources of structurally unique and biologically active metabolites. To discover protease inhibitors from marine sponges, we collected the sponge Plakortis halichondroides from Little San Salvador reef of Bahamas. First, we isolate the molecules by extraction and separation techniques. Second, we perform enzyme assays. Third, we identify interesting compounds by modern spectroscopic techniques