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Natural Product Research
Formerly Natural Product Letters
Volume 26, 2012 - Issue 24
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Review Article

Seahorses – A source of traditional medicine

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Pages 2330-2334 | Received 29 Jul 2011, Accepted 03 Nov 2011, Published online: 24 Feb 2012
 

Abstract

Wild marine organisms have been used in the discovery and development of traditional and allopathic medical treatments for a long time. Seahorses, a syngnathidae fish, are one of the important candidate organisms which have been used in Chinese traditional medicine from time immemorial. It is believed that seahorses have the potential to cure infertility, baldness, asthma and arthritis. An authentic research work on the biomedical validation of seahorses proved that they have the ability to cure arthritis and its associated inflammation. A Cathepsin-derived peptide from the seahorse species of Hippocampus kuda proved to be effective in chondrocyte cells and its associated impaired arthritis inflammation. Apart from this, seahorses have a putative free radical scavenging effect in controlling the ageing process. More authentic research is needed in order to validate the biomedical potential. This article highlights the role of seahorses’ value in traditional medicine and their biomedical properties.

Acknowledgements

The authors are thankful to the Ministry of Earth Science and Ocean Science Technology (MoES-OASTC), Government of India, for extending their financial support for this research work.

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