PHARMACOLOGICALLY IMPORTANT MARINE SPECIES

About Authors:
¹Uma Nath, ²Nitha p. mohan, ³Revathy sivan
¹Assistant professor, department of pharmaceutical chemistry,
²Assistant professor, department of pharmacognosy,
³Department of pharmacology,
^1,2,3daleview college of pharmacy and research centre punalal trivandrum kerala.
*umaanalysis@yahoo.co.in

ABSTRACT:
The main aim of this work is to make every one aware of the source of medicine available in underwater. Natural product compounds are the source of numerous therapeutic agents. Recent progress to discover drugs from natural product sources has resulted in compounds that are being developed to treat cancer, resistant bacteria and viruses and immunosuppressive disorders. Many of these compounds were discovered by applying recent advances in understanding the genetics of secondary metabolism in microorganisms, exploring the marine environment and applying new screening technologies. Microbes have made a phenomenal/unique contribution to the health and well-being of people throughout the world. In addition to producing many primary metabolites, such as amino acids, vitamins and nucleotides, they are capable of making secondary metabolites, which constitute half of the pharmaceuticals on the market today (and provide agriculture with many essential products). A growing number of marine microorganisms are the sources of novel and potentially life-saving bioactive secondary metabolites. Here, we have discussed some of these novel antibacterial, antiviral, anticancer compounds isolated from marine-derived microbes and their possible roles in disease eradication and commercial exploitation of these compounds for possible drug development using many approaches.

REFERENCE ID: PHARMATUTOR-ART-1678

INTRODUCTION
Thousands of different species of bacteria, fungi and viruses exist in marine ecosystems comprising complex microbial food webs. These microorganisms play highly diverse roles in terms of ecology and biochemistry, in the most different ecosystems and each drop of water taken from the ocean will contain microbial species unknown to humans in a 9:1 ratio (Colwell, 2002). The ocean represents a rich resource for ever more novel compounds with great potential as pharmaceutical, nutritional supplements, cosmetics, agrichemicals and enzymes, where each of these marine bioproducts has a strong potential market value (Faulkner, 2002). A lot of structurally and pharmacologically important substances have been isolated with novel antimicrobial, antitumor and anti-inflammatory properties (Bhadury and Wright, 2004). In many cases, natural products provide compounds as clinical/marketed drugs, or as biochemical tools that demonstrate the role of specific pathways in disease and the potential of finding drugs. In the areas of cancer and infectious disease, 60 and 75%, respectively, of new drugs, originate from natural sources. Raja et al. (2010) reported that new antibiotics active against resistant bacteria are required. Bacteria live on earth for several billion years. During this time, they encountered by range of naturally occurring antibiotics. To survive, bacteria developed antibiotics resistance mechanism (Hoskeri et al., 2010).

The WHO has predicted that between 2000 and 2020, nearly 1 billion people will become infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis (TB). Sexually transmitted diseases have also increased during these decades, especially in young people (aged 15-24 years). HIV/AIDS has infected more than 40 million people in the world. Together with other diseases such as tuberculosis and malaria, HIV/AIDS accounts for over 300 million illnesses and more than 5 million deaths each year. Additional evolving pathogens include the Ebola virus, which causes the viral hemorrhagic fever syndrome with a resultant mortality rate of 88%. It is estimated that this bacterium causes infection in more than 70,000 patients a year in the USA (Balaban and Dell’Acqua, 2005). The Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA) reported in 2004 that in US hospitals alone, around 2 million people acquire bacterial infections each year (idsociety.org/Content.aspx?id¼4682). Staphylococcus aureus is responsible for half of the hospital-associated infections and takes the lives of approximately 100, 000 patients each year in the USA alone (Hancock, 2007). New antibiotics that are active against resistant bacteria are required. The problem is not just antibiotic resistance but also multidrug resistance. In 2004, more than 70% of pathogenic bacteria were estimated to be resistant to at least one of the currently available antibiotics (Cragg and Newman, 2001).

Among them, Pseudomonas aeruginosa accounts for almost 80% of these opportunistic infections. They represent a serious problem in patients hospitalized with cancer, cystic fibrosis and burns, causing death in 50% of cases. Other infections caused by Pseudomonas species include endocarditis, pneumonia and infections of the urinary tract, central nervous system, wounds, eyes, ears, skin and musculoskeletal system. This bacterium is another example of a natural multi drug-resistant microorganism (Balaban and Dell’Acqua, 2005). Several viruses responsible for human epidemics have made a transition from animal host to humans and are now transmitted from human to human. In addition, the major viral causes of respiratory infections include respiratory syncytial virus, human parainfluenza viruses 1 and 3, influenza viruses A and B, as well as some adenoviruses. These diseases are highly destructive in economic and social as well as in human terms and cause approximately 17 million deaths year-1 and innumerable serious illnesses besides affecting the economic growth, development and prosperity of human societies (Morse, 1997).

1) MUD CRAB

FIGURE 1

Scylla serrata (often called mud crab or mangrove crab, although both terms are highly ambiguous, as well as black crab) is an economically important species of crab found in the estuaries and mangroves of Africa, Australia and Asia. In their most common form, the shell colour varies from a deep, mottled green to very dark brown.

Distribution
The natural range of Scylla serrata is in the Indo-Pacific. It is found from South Africa, around the coast of the Indian Ocean to the Malay Archipelago, as well as from southern Japan to south-eastern Australia, and as far east as Fiji and Samoa.[1] The species has also been introduced to Hawaii and Florida.[1][2]

Ecology
A study on tidal flats in Deception Bay in Queensland found juvenile crabs (20–99 millimetres or 0.8–3.9 inches carapace width) were resident in the mangrove zone, remaining there during low tide, while subadults (100–149 mm or 3.9–5.9 in) migrated into the intertidal zone to feed at high tide and retreated to subtidal waters at low tide.[3] Adults (150 mm or 5.9 in and larger) were caught mainly below the low tide mark, with small numbers captured in the intertidal zone at high tide.[3]

These crabs are highly cannibalistic in nature and when another crab undergoes moulting the hard shelled ones attack the moulting crabs and devour them. The females can give birth to 1 million offspring which can grow up to 3.5 kilograms (7.7 lb) in size and have a shell width of up to 24 centimetres (9.4 in) wide.

Aquaculture and consumption
There has been a huge interest in the aquaculture of this species due to their high demand/price, high flesh content and rapid growth rates in captivity. In addition they have a high tolerance to both nitrate[4] and ammonia (particularly NH3) (twice that of the similar sized Portunus pelagicus), which is beneficial because ammonia-N is often the most limiting factor on closed aquaculture systems.[5] Their high ammonia-N tolerance may be attributed to various unique physiological responses which may have arisen due to their habitat preferences.[5] However their aquaculture has been limited due to the often low and unpredictable larvae survival. This may be due to inadequate nutrition, disease, "moult death syndrome" (due to their highly cannibalistic behaviour during the megalopa stage), inadequate protocols (e.g. sub-optimal environmental conditions) or a combination of all.

S. serrata can be kept easily in home aquaria when smaller, but will outgrow small setups. They are very active and will eat almost any conventional sinking pellets; they also appreciate some small fish pieces and vegetable matter. They are tolerant of most water conditions and are generally a very hardy and entertaining species.

Generally cooked with their shells on, when they moult their shells, they can be served as a seafood delicacy, one of many types of soft shell crab. Some consider them to be among the tastiest of crab species and they have a huge demand in South Asian countries where they are often bought alive in the markets. In the northern states of Australia and especially Queensland, mud crabs are relatively common and generally prized above other seafood within the general public.

SCIENTIFIC CLASSIFICATION
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Crustacea
Class: Malacostraca
Order: Decapoda
Infraorder: Brachyura
Family: Portunidae
Genus:Scylla
Species: S. serrata
Binomial name
Scylla serrata
(Forsskål, 1775)

PHARMACOLOGICAL ACTIVITIES

haemolymph of S. serrata against S.aureus and minimum zone of inhibition (11mm) was observed against P. aeruginosa strain. In antifungal activity, zone of inhibition of 10 mm was observed using crude haemolymph of S. serrata against M. gypseum followed by M. furfur (10 mm) and T. mentagrophyte

2) WHITE PRAWN

FIGURE 2

Litopenaeus setiferus (formerly Penaeus setiferus, and known by various common names including white shrimp, gray shrimp, lake shrimp, green shrimp, green-tailed shrimp, blue-tailed shrimp, rainbow shrimp, Daytona shrimp, common shrimp, southern shrimp, and, in Mexico, camaron blanco) is a species of prawn found along the Atlantic coast of North America and in the Gulf of Mexico.[1] It was the subject of the earliest shrimp fishery in the United States.

Description
Litopenaeus setiferus may reach a total length (excluding antennae) of 197 mm (7.8 in), with females being larger than males.[1] The antennae may be up to three times the length of the body, which is bluish white with a tinge of pink on the sides, and black spots.[2] The pleopods are often redder, and the uropods and telson are green.[2] The rostrum is long and thin, with 5–11 teeth on the upper edge and 2 on the lower edge, and continues along the carapace as a dorsal carina (ridge).[2] Deep grooves alongside the carine separate the related species Farfantepenaeus aztecus ("brown shrimp") and Farfantepenaeus duorarum ("pink shrimp") from L. setiferus.[1][2]

Ecology
Litopenaeus setiferus lives in estuaries and from the littoral zone to water with a depth of 100 feet (30 m) in the Atlantic, or up to 260 ft (79 m) in the Gulf of Mexico. [2] Litopenaeus setiferus is an omnivore; in Lake Pontchartrain, it feeds chiefly on the seagrass Vallisneria americana and detritus.[3] Many aquatic animals feed on L. setiferus, including fish such as red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus) and turtles such as the loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta).[3]

Life cycle
Spawning in L. setiferus occurs while the water is warm, between the increase in water temperatures in the spring and the sudden decline in temperature in the fall.[1] It generally occurs within 9 km (5.6 mi) of the shoreline, in water less than 9 m (30 ft) deep in the Atlantic, or 8–31 m (26–102 ft) deep in the Gulf of Mexico.[1] Males attach a spermatophore to the females, which is then used to fertilize the eggs as they are released.[1] Each female releases 500,000–1,000,000 purplish eggs, each 0.2–0.3 mm (0.008–0.012 in) across, which sink to the bottom of the water column.[1]

After 10–12 hours, the eggs hatch into nauplius larvae, which are 0.3 mm (0.012 in) long, planktonic and unable to feed.[1] They molt five times to reach the protozoea stage, 1 mm (0.039 in) long. These grow to 2.5 mm (0.098 in) long over two molts, before passing through three molts as a mysis larva.[1] About 15–20 days after hatching, the animals reaches the postlarva stage; in the second postlarval stage, at a length of 7 mm (0.28 in), they begin to enter estuaries and drop down to the substrate.[1]

Spring rains flush the shrimp out into the ocean. In the Eastern United States, shrimp then migrate south towards warmer waters.[4]

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Crustacea
Class: Malacostraca
Order: Decapoda
Family: Penaeidae
Genus:Litopenaeus
Species: L. setiferus
Binomial name
Litopenaeus setiferus
(Linnaeus, 1767)

Pharmacological activities

White shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) recombinant lysozyme has antibacterial activity against Gram negative bacteria: Vibrio alginolyticus, Vibrio parahemolyticus and Vibrio cholera.

3) SQUID

FIGURE 3

Squid are cephalopods of the order Teuthida, which comprises around 300 species. Like all other cephalopods, squid have a distinct head, bilateral symmetry, a mantle, and arms. Squid, like cuttlefish, have eight arms arranged in pairs and two, usually longer, tentacles. Squid are strong swimmers and certain species can "fly" for short distances out of the water.[2]

Modification from ancestral forms
Squid have differentiated from their ancestral molluscs such that the body plan has been condensed antero-posteriorly and extended dorso-ventrally. What before may have been the foot of the ancestor is modified into a complex set of tentacles and highly developed sense organs, including advanced eyes similar to those of vertebrates.

The ancestral shell has been lost, with only an internal gladius, or pen, remaining. The pen is a feather-shaped internal structure that supports the squid's mantle and serves as a site for muscle attachment. It is made of a chitin-like material.

Anatomy
Composite diagram illustrating basic squid features (ventral aspect)

The main body mass is enclosed in the mantle, which has a swimming fin along each side. These fins, unlike in other marine organisms, are not the main source of locomotion in most species.

The skin is covered in chromatophores, which enable the squid to change color to suit its surroundings, making it practically invisible. The underside is also almost always lighter than the topside, to provide camouflage from both prey and predator.

Under the body are openings to the mantle cavity, which contains the gills (ctenidia) and openings to the excretory and reproductive systems. At the front of the mantle cavity lies the siphon, which the squid uses for locomotion via precise jet propulsion. In this form of locomotion, water is sucked into the mantle cavity and expelled out of the siphon in a fast, strong jet. The direction of the siphon can be changed, to suit the direction of travel.

Inside the mantle cavity, beyond the siphon, lies the visceral mass, which is covered by a thin, membranous epidermis. Under this are all the major internal organs.

Nervous system
The giant axon, which may be up to 1 mm (0.04 in) in diameter in some larger species, innervates the mantle and controls part of the jet propulsion system.

As cephalopods, squid exhibit relatively high intelligence among invertebrates. For example, groups of Humboldt squid hunt cooperatively, using active communication. (See Cephalopod intelligence.)

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Cephalopoda
Superorder: Decapodiformes
Order: Teuthida
A. Naef, 1916

PHARMACOLOGICAL USE

In cooking, squid ink benefits boil down largely to taste and presentation enhancements. The ink gives pasta and rice a distinct black coloring and a mild briny taste. Its flavor comes largely from glutamic acid, an amino acid also present in fish sauce and other food additives that adds a savory flavor to dishes. Natural glutamic acid, such as that in squid ink, differs from its synthetic cousin monosodium glutamate in that it does not contain the impurities that your body cannot process, according to the Truth in Labeling Campaign. Therefore, ink adds flavoring without containing anything particularly harmful to you, unless you are allergic to it.

Outside of culinary use, squid ink has shown some promise in medicinal purposes, particularly in cancer treatments. A 2008 study at Shandong University's School of Ocean Sciences showed that an isolated substance from the ink can slow the growth of tumors. A few years later, a study published in "Carbohydrate Polymers" showed that same substance can stop cell tumor cells from invading and migrating, meaning it can slow the spread of cancer. As a result, the substance could someday be of use in treatments preventing cancer metastasis.

4) GREEN MUSSEL

FIGURE 4

The Asian green mussel (Perna viridis), is an economically important mussel, a bivalve belonging to the family Mytilidae. It is harvested for food but is also known to harbor toxins and cause damage to submerged structures such as drainage pipes. It is native in the Asia-Pacific region but has been introduced in the Caribbean, and in the waters around Japan, North America, and South America.[1] The Asian green mussel has separate sexes and fertilizes externally. There are a very few functional hermaphrodites (<0.1%). The mussel's sexual development was shown to be affected by temperature.[6] Spawning ordinarily occurs twice a year between early spring and late autumn; however, the mussels found in the Philippines and Thailand are known to spawn all year round.[3] The zygote transforms to a larva 7–8 hours after fertilization. The larvae stay in the water column for 10–12 days before undergoing metamorphosis into a juvenile and settling onto a surface.[5] The juveniles become sexually mature when they are 15–30 mm in length, a size reached within 2–3 months. Growth is influenced by the availability of food, temperature, water movement,[3] mussel's age, and caging. Cage culturing can prevent entry of predators and barnacles increases marketability but slows down the mussel's growth rate.[7] The adult can live to up 2–3 years. Due to its fast growth, it can outcompete other fouling organisms and cause changes in marine ecological relationships.[3]

The mussel is a filter feeder that feeds on phytoplankton, zooplankton and suspended organic materials. They are eaten by fishes, crustaceans, seastars, octopuses and humans.[3]

PHARMACOLOGICAL ACTIVITIES

Anti inflammatory, Anti bacterial

5) SEA URCHINS

FIGURE 5

Sea urchins or urchins are small, spiny, globular animals which, with their close kin, such as sand dollars, constitute the class Echinoidea of the echinoderm phylum. There are c. 950 species of echinoids inhabiting all oceans from the intertidal to 5000 meters deep.[1] Their shell, or "test", is round and spiny, typically from 3 to 10 cm (1.2 to 3.9 in) across. Common colors include black and dull shades of green, olive, brown, purple, and red. They move slowly, feeding mostly on algae. Sea otters, wolf eels, triggerfish, and other predators feed on them. Their "roe" (actually the gonads) is a delicacy in many cuisines.

The name "urchin" is an old name for the round spiny hedgehogs that sea urchins resemble. Taxonomy

Sea urchins are members of the phylum Echinodermata, which also includes sea stars, sea cucumbers, brittle stars, and crinoids. Like other echinoderms, they have fivefold symmetry (called pentamerism) and move by means of hundreds of tiny, transparent, adhesive "tube feet". The symmetry is not obvious in the living animal, but is easily visible in the dried test. Echinodermate means "spiny skin" in Greek.

Specifically, the term "sea urchin" refers to the "regular echinoids", which are symmetrical and globular. The term includes several different taxonomic groups: the order Echinoida, the order Cidaroida or "slate-pencil urchins", which have very thick, blunt spines, and others. Besides sea urchins, the class Echinoidea also includes three groups of "irregular" echinoids: flattened sand dollars, sea biscuits, and heart urchins.

Together with sea cucumbers (Holothuroidea), they make up the subphylum Echinozoa, which is characterized by a globoid shape without arms or projecting rays. Sea cucumbers and the irregular echinoids have secondarily evolved diverse shapes. Although many sea cucumbers have branched tentacles surrounding the oral opening, these have originated from modified tube feet and are not homologous to the arms of the crinoids, sea stars, and brittle stars.

Anatomy
Urchins typically range in size from 6 to 12 cm (2.4 to 4.7 in), although the largest species can reach up to 36 cm (14 in).[2]

Fivefold symmetry
Like other echinoderms, sea urchins are bilaterans. Their early larvae have bilateral symmetry,[3] but they develop fivefold symmetry as they mature. This is most apparent in the "regular" sea urchins, which have roughly spherical bodies, with five equally sized parts radiating out from their central axes. Several sea urchins, however, including the sand dollars, are oval in shape, with distinct front and rear ends, giving them a degree of bilateral symmetry. In these urchins, the upper surface of the body is slightly domed, but the underside is flat, while the sides are devoid of tube feet. This "irregular" body form has evolved to allow the animals to burrow through sand or other soft materials.[2]

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Echinodermata
Subphylum: Echinozoa
Class: Echinoidea
Leske, 1778

PHARMACOLOGIAL ACTIVITY
Researchers are using the sea urchins to study and understand diseases like cancer, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and muscular dystrophy

6) JELLY FISH

FIGURE 6

Jellyfish are the major non-polyp form of individuals of the phylum Cnidaria. They are typified as free-swimming marine animals consisting of a gelatinous umbrella-shaped bell and trailing tentacles. The bell can pulsate for locomotion, while stinging tentacles can be used to capture prey.

Jellyfish are found in every ocean, from the surface to the deep sea. A few jellyfish inhabit freshwater. Large, often colorful, jellyfish are common in coastal zones worldwide. Jellyfish have roamed the seas for at least 500 million years,[1] and possibly 700 million years or more, making them the oldest multi-organ animal.[2]

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Cnidaria
Subphylum: Medusozoa
Petersen, 1979
Classes
Cubozoa
Hydrozoa
Polypodiozoa
Scyphozoa
Staurozoa

PHARMACOLOGICAL ACTIVITY

Antiinflammatory

7) SEA SQUIRT

FIGURE 7

Ascidiacea (commonly known as the ascidians or sea squirts) is a class in the Tunicata subphylum of sac-like marine invertebrate filter feeders. Ascidians are characterized by a tough outer "tunic" made of the polysaccharide tunicin, as compared to other tunicates which are less rigid.

Ascidians are found all over the world, usually in shallow water with salinities over 2.5%. While members of the Thaliacea and Larvacea swim freely like plankton, sea squirts are sessile animals: they remain firmly attached to substratum such as rocks and shells.

There are 2,300 species of ascidians and three main types: solitary ascidians, social ascidians that form clumped communities by attaching at their bases, and compound ascidians that consist of many small individuals (each individual is called a zooid) forming colonies up to several meters in diameter.

Sea squirts feed by taking in water through the oral siphon. The water enters the mouth and pharynx, flows through mucus-covered gill slits (also called pharyngeal stigmata) into a water chamber called the atrium, then exits through the atrial siphon.

Anatomy
Sea squirts are rounded or cylindrical animals ranging from about 0.5 to 10 centimetres (0.20 to 3.9 in) in size. One end of the body is always firmly fixed to rock, coral, or some similar solid surface. The lower surface is pitted or ridged, and in some species has root-like extensions that help the animal grip onto the surface. The body wall is covered by a smooth thick tunic, which is often quite rigid. The tunic consists of a cellulose-like substance called tunicin along with proteins and calcium salts. Unlike the shells of molluscs, the tunic is composed of living tissue, and often has its own blood supply. In some colonial species, the tunics of adjacent individuals are fused into a single structure.[2]

The upper surface of the animal, opposite to the part gripping the substratum, has two openings, or siphons. When removed from the water, the animal often violently expels water from these siphons, hence the common name of "sea squirt". The body itself can be divided into up to three regions, although these are not clearly distinct in most species. The pharyngeal region contains the pharynx, while the abdomen contains most of the other bodily organs, and the postabdomen contains the heart and gonads. In many sea squirts, the postabdomen, or even the entire abdomen, are absent, with their respective organs being located more anteriorly.[2]

As its name implies, the pharyngeal region is occupied mainly by the pharynx. The large buccal siphon opens into the pharynx, acting like a mouth. The pharynx itself is ciliated and contains numerous perforations, or stigmata, arranged in a grid-like pattern around its circumference. The beating of the cilia sucks water through the siphon, and then through the stigmata. A long ciliated groove, or endostyle, runs along one side of the pharynx, and a projecting ridge along the other. The endostyle may be homologous with the thyroid gland of vertebrates, despite its differing function.[2]

The pharynx is surrounded by an atrium, through which water is expelled through a second, usually smaller, siphon. Cords of connective tissue cross the atrium to maintain the general shape of the body. The outer body wall consists of connective tissue, muscle fibres, and a simple epithelium directly underlying the tunic.[2]

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Tunicata
Class: Ascidiacea
Nielsen, 1995
Orders
Enterogona
Aplousobranchia
Phlebobranchia
Pleurogona
Stolidobranchia

PHARMACOLOGICAL USE

Antitumour activity

8) SEA HORSE

FIGURE 8

Seahorse is the title given to 54 species of marine fish in the genus Hippocampus. "Hippocampus" comes from the Ancient Greek hippos meaning "horse" and kampos meaning "sea monster".[2]

Location
Seahorses are mainly found in shallow tropical and temperate waters throughout the world, and prefer to live in sheltered areas such as seagrass beds, estuaries, coral reefs, or mangroves. In Pacific waters from North America to South America there are approximately four species. In the Atlantic, the H. erectus ranges from Nova Scotia to Uruguay. H. zosterae, known as the dwarf seahorse, is found in the Bahamas.

Colonies have been found in European waters such as the Thames Estuary.[3]
Three species live in the Mediterranean Sea: H. guttulatus (the long-snouted seahorse), H. hippocampus (the short-snouted seahorse) and H. fuscus (the sea pony). These species form territories; males stay within 1 square meter (11 sq ft) of their habitat while females range about one hundred times that.

Physical description
Spiny seahorse H. histrix from East Timor holding on to soft coral with its prehensile tail Seahorses range in size from 0.6 to 14 in (1.5 to 35.5 cm).[4] They are named for their equine appearance. Although they are bony fish, they do not have scales but rather thin skin stretched over a series of bony plates, which are arranged in rings throughout their body. Each species has a distinct number of rings. Seahorses swim upright, another characteristic that is not shared by their close pipefish relatives, who swim horizontally. Razorfish are the only other fish that swim vertically like a seahorse. Unusual among fish, seahorses have a flexible, well-defined neck. They also sport a coronet on the head, which is distinct for each individual.

According to Guinness World Records 2009, H. zosterae (the dwarf seahorse) is the slowest moving fish, with a top speed of about 5 feet (150 cm) per hour.[5] They swim very poorly, rapidly fluttering a dorsal fin and using pectoral fins (located behind their eyes) to steer. Seahorses have no caudal fin. Since they are poor swimmers, they are most likely to be found resting with their prehensile tails wound around a stationary object. They have long snouts, which they use to suck up food, and eyes that can move independently of each other (like a chameleon).

PHARMACOLOGICAL ACTIVITY
main ingredient in chinese medicine for the treatment of kidney disorder, impotence and circulatory problems.

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