Chemistry, Antiviral Properties and Clinical Relevance of Marine Macroalgae and Seagrass

Background Marine organisms are always considered as one of the richest sources of natural products. Historically, they are being used as medicines in diverse ailments. In recent years, researchers have reported several primary and secondary metabolites in marine organisms (few examples are macroalgae, sponges, seagrasses, bacteria, microalgae), which serve in numerous disorders, of which 20–25% have shown antiviral, antimicrobial, antifungal, anticancer or anti-inflammatory properties. According to the global pharmaceutical website, there are a total of nine approved pharmaceuticals from a marine source, and apart from this, thirty-one other compounds are currently in a clinical trial.

Objective Discovery of potent antiviral drugs is required currently to mitigate life-threatening viruses. Considerable research exploring the bioactivity of marine macroalgae has been documented, highlighting the immense biochemical diversity of its primary and secondary metabolites with a novel mechanism of action, making them perfect sources for novel antiviral bioactive compounds of pharmaceutical interest.

Methods Databases utilizing bibliographic databanks, such as PubMed, SpringerLink, Elsevier journal, Science Direct, Scopus databases, and Google search were surveyed using keywords anti-viral, seaweeds, antiviral drugs, seagrass, polyphenols, pharmacology, clinical trials.

Results Marine phytoplanktons are found to be the major source of several key medicinal agents (polyphenols, phenolic compounds), which are largely obtained from seaweeds and seagrasses and have shown promising antiviral activity in cell culture studies. This review explains recent developments regarding antiviral agents from seaweeds and seagrass.

Keywords: Antiviral Drugs, Polyphenols, Seagrass, Seaweeds.