Browsing by Author "Renner, Niklas"

Cyanobacteria produce several secondary metabolites which can be assorted into larger groups like peptides, polyketides and alkaloids based on their structure and synthesis pathways. Though the importance of these compounds to the cyanobacteria is under discussion, some compounds are detected to express bioactivity towards the cells of other organisms. The most known of these compounds are probably toxins like microcystins and saxitoxins which pose a health risk to humans and animals. However, some compounds, when modified, might have a positive affect towards human health. These compounds could for example inhibit the growth of pathogens in human body or harm cancer cells. Therefore, cyanobacteria have risen among the most promising organisms when it comes to finding new drug leads. Unfortunately only a few cyanobacteria strains seem to produce compounds with high medical potential and these compounds of interest are among the hundreds of others metabolites produced by the strain. Therefore, efficient screening and purification methods are needed. This study aimed to isolate antileukemic fractions from cyanobacteria strains, which had expressed cytotoxic activity in previous studies. The compounds of interest would be identified and purified out of these fractions. Fractions were made using solid phase extraction and high performance liquid chromatography. The antileukemic activity of the fractions were tested using human leukemia patient-derived cell line. Using described methods we found apparently cytotoxic compounds resembling carotenoids from one of the strains. We also performed screening based on plate diffusion. The tests were done in order to determine whether the compounds of cyanobacteria strains would be able to cause hemolysis or prevent growth of different microbes. One of the strains tested seemed to express α-hemolytic activity.