Page 44 - ITPS-7-1

INNOSC Theranostics

and Pharmacological Sciences

REVIEW ARTICLE
Cytotoxicity of bioactive compounds derived

from cyanobacteria

Hanaa Ali Hussein*, Fatin L. Khaphi, and Zahra Kadhum Saeed
Department of Basic Sciences, College of Dentistry, University of Basrah, Basrah, Iraq

Abstract

Cyanobacteria are rich in bioactive compounds that exhibit diverse biological
activities, including antiproliferative, cytotoxic, and antineoplastic properties. Many
of these compounds are currently being studied in clinical trials. In this paper, newly
discovered bioactive compounds from various cyanobacteria species that have
demonstrated anticancer effects against multiple cancer cell lines, such as apratoxin,
symplostatin 1, bartolosides, caylobolide, bisebromoamides, carmaphycins, and
anaenamides, are reviewed. At present, there are no clear guidelines on approving
cyanobacteria-derived bioactive compounds for use in treating diseases. While
it is not uncommon that the intake of these compounds is accompanied by side
effects, investigations on these compounds should focus on increasing the safety
and efficacy of the compounds, or at least tread a fine line between drug safety and
effectiveness for cancer patients. This review overviews the efficacy and cytotoxicity
of cyanobacteria-derived bioactive compounds, providing researchers insights into
how to maximize the benefits of these compounds through research.
*Corresponding author:
Hanaa Ali Hussein
(hanaa.hussein@uobasrah.edu.iq) Keywords: Bioactive compounds; Cyanobacteria; Cytotoxicity
Citation: Hussein HA, Khaphi FL,
Saeed ZK, 2024, Cytotoxicity of
bioactive compounds derived
from cyanobacteria. INNOSC 1. Introduction
Theranostics and Pharmacological
Sciences, 7(1): 1388. Cancer is the leading cause of death worldwide, resulting in approximately 10 million
https://doi.org/10.36922/itps.1388 deaths in 2020.In addition, there were 19.3 million new cases reported . There are
[1]
Received: July 27, 2023 over 200 types of cancer that can spread throughout the body, leading to metastasis
and potentially fatal consequences . Many chemotherapy drugs used to fight cancer
[2]
Accepted: September 5, 2023
can harm both cancerous and healthy cells. Natural compounds derived from natural
Published Online: October 26, sources, such as marine organisms, plants, and microorganisms, have become popular
2023
therapeutic candidates for treating cancer because they can effectively target cancer
Copyright: © 2023 Author(s). cells with little to no harmful effects on healthy cells [3,4] . Cyanobacteria, also known
This is an Open-Access article
distributed under the terms of the as blue-green microalgae, contain a variety of bioactive compounds with low to high
Creative Commons Attribution molecular weight, such as hapalindole A, oscillapeptin A, minutissamide A, lyngbic
License, permitting distribution,
and reproduction in any medium, acid, caylobolide B, anabaenopeptin E, lobocyclamides, lyngbyacyclamides A and B,
provided the original work is homodolostatin, malyngamides, glicomacrolides, swinholides, macrolactones, and
properly cited. viridamides. Approximately 40% of these compounds can be utilized as anticancer
Publisher’s Note: AccScience and antimicrobial agents [5,6] , and most of these compounds are currently under clinical
Publishing remains neutral with investigations . Cyanobacteria-derived bioactive compounds have shown promising
[7]
regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional anticancer activity against cancer cells. This can be attributed to various mechanisms,
affiliations. such as inducing cell cycle arrest in the G1 phase, inhibiting serine proteases such as

Volume 7 Issue 1 (2024) 1 https://doi.org/10.36922/itps.1388