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Saving the pharmacy of the sea: How does global change affect species with bioactive potential in the Mediterranean?
Summary
This study examined how human activities — including pollution, fishing, and climate change — threaten Mediterranean marine species that produce potentially useful bioactive compounds. Microplastic contamination is among the stressors affecting these species and their ability to produce molecules of pharmaceutical interest.
Several marine species in the Mediterranean produce molecules with bioactive potential that could be used to develop new drugs (antibiotics, antifungals, antivirals, and antitumourals). Different human activities such as pollution, marine recreation, and fishing, as well as climate change, threaten and even endanger some of these species. These vulnerable species with bioactive potential must be protected, especially in marine reserves, not only because they are valuable components of marine ecosystems, but also because they are a potential source of molecules with pharmacological properties that are currently being researched for the creation of new drugs.
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