Ten new molecular structures with pharmaceutical potential were isolated from Callophycus serratus, a species of red seaweed that lives in the shallow coral reef along the coastline of Fiji in the south Pacific Ocean.

Two of them exhibit anti-bacterial activity towards antibiotic-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, which causes food-borne and other infectious diseases. One compound, named bromophycolide A killed human tumor cells by triggering apoptosis, or programmed cell death, and could therefore be a potential anti-cancer therapeutic. Findings on these three compounds--named diterpene-benzoate natural products-- are described in the Oct 12 issue of Organic Letters.

In the report released by the Georgia Institute of Technology, however, the paper's lead author admits there's still much to do to develop these compunds into marketable pharmaceutical products:

Much research is left to do before any of these compounds are used to formulate a drug available on the market, Kubanek said. It typically takes at least a decade from the discovery of a compound to the marketing of a new drug. If that does happen in this case, Fijian villagers and the Fijian government would benefit financially from the discovery because of an agreement that is already in place, she added.

But U.S. pharmaceutical company Bristol Myers Squibb is optimistic, and is already collaborating with the researchers to determine the anti-cancer potential of some of these compunds. Meanwhile, Georgia Tech has filed a provisional patent to protect the discovery of these structures.

Photo Credits: http://www.gatech.edu/news-room/release.php?id=676