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Review
. 2018 May 15;16(5):165.
doi: 10.3390/md16050165.

Marine Microalgae with Anti-Cancer Properties

Kevin A Martínez Andrade  1 , Chiara Lauritano  2 , Giovanna Romano  3 , Adrianna Ianora  4
Affiliations
Review

Marine Microalgae with Anti-Cancer Properties

Kevin A Martínez Andrade et al. Mar Drugs. .

Abstract

Cancer is the leading cause of death globally and finding new therapeutic agents for cancer treatment remains a major challenge in the pursuit for a cure. This paper presents an overview on microalgae with anti-cancer activities. Microalgae are eukaryotic unicellular plants that contribute up to 40% of global primary productivity. They are excellent sources of pigments, lipids, carotenoids, omega-3 fatty acids, polysaccharides, vitamins and other fine chemicals, and there is an increasing demand for their use as nutraceuticals and food supplements. Some microalgae are also reported as having anti-cancer activity. In this review, we report the microalgal species that have shown anti-cancer properties, the cancer cell lines affected by algae and the concentrations of compounds/extracts tested to induce arrest of cell growth. We also report the mediums used for growing microalgae that showed anti-cancer activity and compare the bioactivity of these microalgae with marine anticancer drugs already on the market and in phase III clinical trials. Finally, we discuss why some microalgae can be promising sources of anti-cancer compounds for future development.

Keywords: anti-cancer; marine biotechnology; microalgae.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The founding sponsors had no role in the writing of the manuscript.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Time estimates for research and development of new Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved drugs.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Polyunsaturated aldehydes. From left to right: 2-trans-4-cis-7-cis-decatrienal (a); 2-trans-4-trans-7-cis-decatrienal (b); 2-trans-4-trans-decadienal (c); 2-trans-4-trans-octadienal (d) and 2-trans-4-trans-heptadienal (e).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Chrysolaminaran monomer.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Violaxanthin.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Eicosapentaenoic acid.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Fucoxanthin.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Stigmasterol.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Nonyl 8-acetoxy-6-methyloctanoate (NAMO).
Figure 9
Figure 9
Monogalactosyl Glycerol (Compound 1): (2S)-1-O-5,8,11,14,17-eicosapentaenoyl-2-O-6,9,12-hexadecatrienoyl-3-O-[β-d-galactopyranosyl]-glycerol.
Figure 10
Figure 10
Monogalactosyl Glycerol (Compound 2): (2S)-1-O-3,6,9,12,15-octadecapentaenoyl-2-O-6,9,12,15-octadecatetraenoyl-3-O-β-d-galactopyranosyl-sn-glycerol.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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