World Journal of
Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences

EXPLORING MYXOBACTERIA FOR DRUGS

Supriti Saha*

ABSTRACT

Over the past two decades, there has been huge gain of interest towards research in Myxobacteria as a group towards the discovery of novel drugs. The latter includes antibacterial, antiviral, anticancer, immunosuppressive etc. To fight and combat many emerging diseases that confronts the human. Myxobacteria represent an interesting group of Gram negative prokaryotic microorganisms primarily due to exceptional changes in life cycle and predatory mode of life. Although, majority of the antibiotics has been obtained from Actinobacteria, in recent years, however, Myxobacteria became increasingly recognised as a rich yet underexplored resource of novel drugs, with the potential to combat the looming health threat posed by antibiotic resistance and other medical conditions. The diversity and unique structural properties of their secondary metabolites is what make these social microbes highly attractive for drug discovery. Various Myxobacterial drugs having antibacterial (glumirecins, disciformycins, chlorotonil, etangien, sorangicin, hyapyrones, roimatac ene, argyrins, cystobactamids etc.); both antibacterial and antifungal activities include hyapyrones, argyrins, chondrocholrens While aetheramide, etangien, ratjadon, sprirangiens etc. are reported to have antiviral activities. These are mainly considered for treating Hepatitis infections (labindoles, soraphen, lanyamycin), AIDS (aetheramide, sulfangolid, soraphen epithilon, sprirangiene etc). Many drugs of Myxobacterial origin are now being considered as therapeutic drugs for treating cancers, such as epithilone, disorazol, microsclerodermin, chondramides, saframyxin, microscleramidermin. Some other activities of the secondary metabolites derived from Myxobacteria are anti- malarial (Chlorotonila), immunosuppressive (Argyrins), insecticidal (macyranones, chondramides, benzamides, eliamid)) activities. A large variety of compounds however, have been reported to exhibit cytotoxic or cytostatic effects against eukaryotic cell lines. Future trend of research in this sector will involve developing methods and process to chemically modify them (by adding various groups) so as to make them applicable (i.e. no toxicity).

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