Bioactive Metabolites and Biomarkers from Rhizophoraceae mangroves A Chemotaxonomic Approach

Abstract

Mangroves are specialised ecosystems developed along estuarine sea newlinecoasts and river mouths in tropical and subtropical regions of the world, newlinemainly in the intertidal zone. Hence, the ecosystem and its biological newlinecomponents is under the influence of both marine and freshwater newlineconditions and has developed a set of physiological adaptations to newlineovercome problems of anoxia, salinity and frequent tidal inundations. This newlinehas led to the assemblage of a wide variety of plant and animal species of newlinespecial adaptations suited to the ecosystem. newlineThe path of photosynthesis in mangroves is different from other newlineglycophytes. There are modifications or alterations in other physiological newlineprocesses such as carbohydrate metabolism or polyphenol synthesis. As newlinethey survive under extreme conditions of salinity, temperature, tides and newlineanoxic soil conditions they may have chemical compounds, which protect newlinethem from these destructive elements. Mangroves are necessarily tolerant newlineof high salt levels and have mechanisms to take up water despite strong newlineosmotic potentials. Some also take up salts, but excrete them through newlinespecialised glands in the leaves. Others transfer salts into senescent leaves newlineor store them in the bark or the wood. Still others simply become newlineincreasingly conservative in their water use as water salinity increases. A newlineusual transportation or biosynthetic path as other plants cannot be expected newlinein mangrove plants. newlineIn India, the states like West Bengal, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil newlineNadu, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Kerala, Goa, Maharashtra, and newlineGujarat occupy vast area of mangroves. Kerala has only 6 km2 total newlinemangrove area with Rhizophora apiculata, Rhizophora mucronata, newlineBruguiera gymnorrhiza, Bruguiera cylindrica, Avicennia officinalis, newlineSonneratia caseolaris, Sonneratia apetala and Kandelia candal, as the newlineimportant species present, most of which belong to the family newlineRhizophoraceae. Rhizophoraceae mangroves are ranked as major elements of newlinemangroves as they give the real shape of this unique and interesting newlineecosystem and these mangrove species most productive and typical newlinecharacteristic ecosystem of World renowned. It was found that the newlineRhizophoraceae mangrove extracts exhibit several bioactive properties. newlineVarious parts of these mangroves are used in ethnomedicinal practices. newlineEven though extracts from these mangroves possess therapeutic activity newlineagainst humans, animal and plant pathogens, the specific metabolites newlineresponsible for these bioactivities remains to be elucidated. Various parts of newlinethese mangroves are used in ethnomedicinal practices. There is a gap of newlineinformation towards the chemistry of Rhizophoraceae mangroves from newlineKerala. Thorough phytochemical investigation can achieve the validity of newlineethnomedicines as well as apply the use of mangrove plants in the newlinedevelopment of new drugs. Such studies can pave a firm base for their use newlinein biomarker and chemotaxonomic studies as well as for the better newlinemanagement of the existing mangrove ecosystem. In this study, the various newlinechemical parameters including minerals, biochemical components, newlinebioactive and biomarker molecules were used to classify and assess the newlinepossible potentials of the mangrove plants of the true mangrove family newlineRhizophoraceae from Kochi. newline