Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
10
Anticoagulant
Compounds
Freshwater plants contain several bioactive compounds, such as calcium channel
blockers, angiotension-converting enzyme inhibitors, angiotension receptor blockers,
antihyperlipidemic agents, antiplatelet (anticlotting) compounds, and anticoagulant
compounds, and these may be of great use in the production of drugs for cardiovas-
cular diseases. Substances of drugs delaying the coagulation of blood are termed
anticoagulants. The three broad categories of anticoagulants are calcium-sequester-
ing agents (e.g., sodium citrate and sodium oxalate), prothrombopenic anticoagulants
(e.g., sodium warfarin, coumarin, and their derivatives), and heparin and heparin
substitutes produced from the phytoproduct of red seaweeds, viz., carrageenan.
MICROCYSTIS VIRIDIS
(A. BRAUN) LEMMERMANN, 1903
Phylum: Cyanobacteria Class: Cyanophyceae
Order: Chroococcales Family: Microcystaceae
Distribution: Europe, Southwest Asia, Australia, New Zealand
Habitat: Freshwater biotopes
Description: This colonial species forms harmful blooms. The cells (5-6 µm
diameter) are spherical and without chloroplasts and pyrenoids.
Compounds and activities: The bioactive compounds isolated from this
species include cyanoviridin RR, microcystin RR-YR-LR, microviridin,
micropeptin 103, aeruginosin 102 A and B, and heptatoxic polypeptides.
Among them, aeruginosin 102 A and B serve as thrombin inhibitors (anti-
coagulants) and micropeptin 103 as a chymotrypsin inhibitor (with IC
50
of
1.0 µg/ml) (Namikoshi et al., 1992; Murakami et al., 1997).
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