Antitumoural activity in Antarctic and sub-Antarctic benthic organisms

Abstract A prospecting search for antitumoural activity in polar benthic invertebrates was conducted on Antarctic and sub-Antarctic benthos in three different areas: Bouvet Island (sub-Antarctic), eastern Weddell Sea (Antarctica) and the South Shetland Islands (Antarctica). A total of 770 benthic in...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Published in:Antarctic Science
Main Authors: Taboada, Sergi, García-Fernández, Luis Francisco, Bueno, Santiago, Vázquez, Jennifer, Cuevas, Carmen, Avila, Conxita
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 2010
Subjects:
Geology
Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Oceanography
Antarctic
The Antarctic
Weddell Sea
South Shetland Islands
Weddell
Bouvet
Bouvet Island
Antarc*
Antarctic Science
Antarctica
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0954102010000416
https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0954102010000416
Description
Summary:Abstract A prospecting search for antitumoural activity in polar benthic invertebrates was conducted on Antarctic and sub-Antarctic benthos in three different areas: Bouvet Island (sub-Antarctic), eastern Weddell Sea (Antarctica) and the South Shetland Islands (Antarctica). A total of 770 benthic invertebrate samples (corresponding to at least 290 different species) from 12 different phyla were assayed to establish their pharmacological potential against three human tumour cell lines (colorectal adenocarcinoma, lung carcinoma and breast adenocarcinoma). Bioassays resulted in 15 different species showing anticancer activity corresponding to five different phyla: Tunicata (5), Porifera (4), Cnidaria (3), Echinodermata (2) and Annelida (1). This appears to be the largest pharmacological study ever carried out in Antarctica and it shows very promising antitumoural activities in the Antarctic and sub-Antarctic benthos.

Similar Items