Cyanobacteria are photosynthetic prokaryotic organisms which represent a significant source of novel, bioactive, secondary metabolites, and they are also considered an abundant source of bioactive compounds/drugs, such as dolastatin, cryptophycin 1, curacin toyocamycin, phytoalexin, cyanovirin-N and phycocyanin. Some of these compounds have displayed promising results in successful Phase I, II, III and IV clinical trials. Additionally, the cyanobacterial compounds applied to medical research have demonstrated an exciting future with great potential to be developed into new medicines. Most of these compounds have exhibited strong pharmacological activities, including neurotoxicity, cytotoxicity and antiviral activity against HCMV, HSV-1, HHV-6 and HIV-1, so these metabolites could be promising candidates for COVID-19 treatment. Therefore, the effective large-scale production of natural marine products through synthesis is important for resolving the existing issues associated with chemical isolation, including small yields, and may be necessary to better investigate their biological activities. Herein, we highlight the total synthesized and stereochemical determinations of the cyanobacterial bioactive compounds. Furthermore, this review primarily focuses on the biotechnological applications of cyanobacteria, including applications as cosmetics, food supplements, and the nanobiotechnological applications of cyanobacterial bioactive compounds in potential medicinal applications for various human diseases are discussed.

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Purpose Marine sponges are rich sources of anticancer metabolites. Axinella sinoxea is a less studied sponge, found in the Larak Island's waters, of the Persian Gulf. In the present study, we have explored the cytotoxic properties and chemical constituents of A. sinoxea. Methods Repeated silica gel flash column chromatography of methanol extract of the Axinella sinoxea sponge, yielded fatty acid and sterol fractions. These fractions were analyzed by GC-MS and their anti-proliferative activities were evaluated by MTT assay against three human cancer cell lines including MOLT-4, MCF-7 and HT-29 as well as NIH/3 T3 fibroblast cells. The sterol-rich fractions were pooled and purified by HPLC and its sub fractions' cytotoxic activities were evaluated by MTT assay against MOLT-4 and NIH/3 T3 cells. ResultsThe GC-MS spectral analysis of a fraction eluted with hexane: diethyl ether (90: 10), resulted in the identification of twelve fatty acids, including five linear chain saturated fatty acids; tetrdecanoic acid (1), pentadecanoic acid (3), hexadecanoic acid (5), heptadecanoic acid (7), and octadecanoic acid (10); one branched chain isoprenoid fatty acid, 4,8,12trimethyltridecanoic acid (2); four monoenoic fatty acids; 9-hexadecenoic acid (4), 7-methyl-6-hexadecanoic acid (6), 9octadecenoic acid (8) and 11-octadecenoic acid (9) and two polyunsaturated fatty acids; 5,8,11,14-eicosatetraenoic acid (11) and 4,7,10,13,16,19-docosahexaenoic acid (12). Spectral analysis of a non-polar fraction eluted with hexane: diethyl ether (85: 15), resulted in the identification of eight steroids including: cholesta-5,22-dien-3β-ol (13), cholest-5-en-3β-ol (14), ergosta-5,22-dien-3β-ol (15), ergost-5-en-3β-ol (16), stigmasta-5,22-dien-3β-ol (17), γ-sitosterol (18), 33-norgorgosta-5,24(28)-dien-3βol (19) and stigmasta-5,24(28)-dien-3β-ol (20). Fatty acids-containing fraction was active against HT-29 cell line with IC 50 26.52 ± 8.19 μg/mL, while the steroids-rich fraction was active against the three above mentioned cell lines with IC 50 values of 1.20 ± 0.24, 4.12 ± 0.40 and 2.47 ± 0.31 μg/mL, respectively. All of the above-mentioned fractions and sub-fractions were inactive (IC 50 s > 50 μg/mL) when assayed against normal fibroblast cells. Conclusion The present study suggests A. sinoxea as a potential natural source of cancer chemotherapeutics.

Background:The essential oil and three solvent extracts of the aerial parts of Scaligeria nodosa (Boiss.) that were collected in Bamu Mountains (Iran), were screened for their antioxidant, antimicrobial properties and total phenolic contents for the first time. Methods:The essential oil was extracted by hydrodistillation and analyzed by capillary gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and GC flame ionization detector (GC-FID). Results:Forty five components were identified in the oil, among them, germacrene D (18.1±0.1%), bicyclogermacrene (1.4±0.0%), and spathunelnol (2.7±0.0%) were the major sesquiterpenoids, n-tetradecanol (4.9±0.0%) was the most abundant fatty alcohol and diisobuthyl phthalate (43.9±0.2%) was the most abundant constituent. The extracts of aerial parts of Sc. nodosa were prepared using different solvents; dichloromethane (DCM), methanol (MeOH) and MeOH: H 2 O (80:20). Antibacterial activity of the oil and each solvent extract was tested against three Gram-positive and three Gram-negative bacteria by nutrient broth micro dilution method. Among the tested microorganisms, Staphylococcus epidermidis (IC 50 1.25-5mg/ml), Bacillus subtilis (IC 50 1.25mg/ml) and Escherichia coli (IC 50 1.25mg/ml) were the most susceptible to the applied oils and the extracts. The antioxidant potential and total phenol contents of the extracts were assessed by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging assay and Folin-Ciocalteu reagent, respectively. Methanol and 80% methanol extracts of the plant showed relatively weak DPPH radical scavenging activity and low amounts of total phenol contents.