The Pharmacological Potential of Cyanobacteria

Book excerpt: The Pharmacological Potential of Cyanobacteria explores the bioactive compounds isolated from cyanobacteria and their relationship to human health and biotechnological applications. The book presents an overview of the chemistry and ecology of cyanobacteria, focusing on culture needs and techniques of biomass production. It is organized according to the different biological activities and biotechnological applications of compounds discovered in recent years. Besides biological activity, the mechanism of action of compounds is explained, along with molecular structure. Finally, compounds already used in therapeutics and biotechnology, as well as those in phases of approval or clinical trials are explored. Each chapter is written by a different research group with expertise in the field and publications in peer reviewed journals. Researchers and students in pharmaceutical academic research, pharmaceutical industrial sector personnel, health professionals, and nutritionists will find this book to be very useful. - Covers all the bioactive compounds of cyanobacteria discovered thus far - Includes chapters by experts in the field, covering the chemistry and mechanisms of action of cyanobacteria-bioactive compounds - Provides a general overview of organisms, from biomass production to compound isolation and evaluation of bioactivities in different cell and cell-free systems