Coringa mangroves: Just what the doctor ordered

Vijayawada: It has recently been discovered that Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary (CWS) is a habitat for organisms that produce enzymes that can be used to treat cardiovascular disease. Marine sediments collected from the mangroves of Coringa have been found to contain a significant amount of fibrinolytic enzymes.

A cardiovascular disease is one that involves the heart, blood vessels, or both. The term may be used to refer to diseases affecting the cardiovascular system, vascular diseases of the brain and kidney, or peripheral arterial diseases. In modern times, cardiovascular disease is one of the leading causes of death.

As part of a recent study, marine sediment samples from CWS were tested. On preliminary screening, they yielded six marine isolates. Two of the isolates, identified as Bacillus firmus and Aspergillus elegans, which were obtained for the first time from CWS, were found to exhibit significant fibrinolytic activity.

“At present, enzymes used to treat cardiovascular disease are produced through genetic engineering, which is an expensive procedure. The production of the same enzymes using these marine isolates, which are naturally available in abundance, will be relatively economical. However, these results are from preliminary studies. Further research and animal trials need to be conducted before these enzymes can be tested on humans,” said Dr R. Jaya Madhuri, an Assistant Professor at the Department of Applied Microbiology of Sri Padmavati Mahila Visvavidyalayam, and the scientist who guided the research team.

She said that a number of marine microbes have been found to produce fibrinokinases. The advantage of using them as enzyme sources is that marine species produce novel metabolites with fewer side effects and lower toxicity. Several research groups are studying marine microbial populations as they grow under conditions of high salinity and extreme temperatures, they have pronounced biochemical diversity, and they can easily be employed for industrial production through genetic manipulation and mass culturing.