PROMISING ANTIPROLIFERATIVE ACTIVITY OF THE MARINE MICROALGA DIACRONEMA LUTHERI

PROMETTENTI ATTIVITÀ ANTIPROLIFERATIVE DELLA MICROALGA MARINA DIACRONEMA LUTHERI

Abstract

Marine microalgae are photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms that have been shown to produce primary and secondary metabolites with possible bioactivities useful for human health. Recently, there has been a growing interest from the scientific community in the search for natural compounds with potential applications in the field of cancer therapy, due to the high incidence of cancer in the population. Marine microalgae are attractive sources of compounds with biological activity thanks to their great biodiversity in terms of species, compounds produced and thanks to the possibility of growing them in large quantities. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the biological activity of the marine Haptophyta Diacronema lutheri (formerly known as Pavlova lutheri). We prepared and tested extracts of this microalga on human cells and found interesting activities against human lung carcinoma cells. These promising extracts will be further considered for chemical identification of bioactive components.