Biology and Ecology of Pharmaceutical Marine Sponges

Book excerpt: Key features: Serves as a standard reference for researchers, teachers and students of various disciplines such as Fisheries Science, Marine Biology, Life Sciences, Biotechnology, Natural Products, and Pharmacy, their libraries, and as a valuable guide for pharmaceutical companies involved in the development of new drugs from marine sponges Presents the taxonomy, common name, global distribution, and habitat of 250 species of marine sponges Provides the diagnostic features and pharmaceutical compounds (along with their chemical structure and activities) of 450 species of marine sponges Includes more than 500 detailed illustrations Biology and Ecology of Pharmaceutical Marine Spongesis the first comprehensive book of its kind written by scientists from both the Marine Biology and Pharmacy disciplines to fill the long-felt need for a marine natural products book devoted exclusively to sponges. Sponges are the most primitive multicelled animals that have existed for 700 - 800 million years. Despite their wide range of functional roles, not much is known about them. Marine sponges are responsible for more than 5,300 pharmaceutical products and some species have the potential to provide future drugs to prevent and treat important medical conditions such as cancer, a range of viral diseases, malaria, and inflammatory diseases. Nucleosides derived from sponges were the basis for the synthesis of Ara-C, the first marine-derived anticancer agent, currently used in the routine treatment of patients with leukemia and lymphoma. Marine sponges are the potential sources of many unique metabolites with anticancer,anti-inflammatory, antibiotic, antiviral, antimalarial, and immune or neurosuppressive properties. Although many bioactives have been discovered in marine sponges, only a few of these compounds have been commercialized. This book hopes to change that, providing the taxonomy, common name, global distribution, habitat, diagnostic features and pharmaceutical compounds (along with their chemical structure and activities) of 450 species of marine sponges, accompanied by high-quality illustrations. The book should be a standard reference for students, researchers and teachers of disciplines such as Fisheries Science, Marine Biology, Biochemistry, Biotechnology and Pharmacy and a valuable guide for pharmaceutical companies involved in the development of new drugs from marine sponges.