The cataloguing of marine chemicals is a fundamental aspect for bioprospecting. This has applications in the development of drugs from marine sources. A publicly accessible database that provides comprehensive information about these compounds is therefore helpful. The Seaweed Metabolite Database (SWMD) is designed to provide information about the known compounds and their biological activity described in the literature. Geographical origin of the seaweed, extraction method and the chemical descriptors of each the compounds are recorded to enable effective chemo-informatics analysis. Crosslinks to other databases are also introduced to facilitate the access of information about 3D Structure by X-ray and NMR activity, drug properties and related literature for each compound. This database currently contains entries for 517 compounds encompassing 25 descriptive fields mostly from the Red algae of the genus Laurencia (Ceramiales, Rhodomelaceae). The customized search engine of this database will enable wildcard querying, which includes Accession Number, Compound type, Seaweed Binomial name, IUPAC name, SMILES notation or InChI.AvailabilityThe database is available for free at http://www.swmd.co.in

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During the course of cancer radiation treatment, normal skin invariably suffers from the cytotoxic effects of gamma-radiation and reactive oxygen species (ROS), which are generated from the interaction between radiation and the water molecules in cells. The present study was designed to investigate the radioprotective role of alpha-lipoic acid (LA), an antioxidant on murine skin fibroblasts exposed to a single dose of 2, 4, 6, or 8Gy gamma-radiation. Irradiation of fibroblasts significantly increased ROS, nitric oxide, and lipid peroxidation (P < 0.001); all of these factors substantially decreased with 100 microM LA treatment. Hydroxyl radical (OH(.)) production from 8Gy irradiated fibroblasts was measured directly by electron spin resonance using spin-trapping techniques. LA was found to inhibit OH(.) production at 100-microM concentrations. Dose-dependent depletion of antioxidants, such as catalase and glutathione reductase, was observed in irradiated fibroblasts (P < 0.001), along with increased superoxide dismutase (P < 0.001). LA treatment restored antioxidant levels. Concentration of the pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-1beta was significantly reduced in irradiated fibroblasts when treated with LA. MTT and lactate dehydrogenase assays demonstrated that LA treatment reduced cell injury and protected cells against irradiation-induced cytotoxicity. Thus, we conclude that results are encouraging and need further experiments to demonstrate a possible benefit in cancer patients and the reduction of harmful effects of radiation therapy.

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