Marine-derived bioactives from cephalopods for therapeutic use

Abstract

Cephalopods, an advanced group within the phylum Mollusca, have emerged as a promising reservoir of bioactive compounds with diverse therapeutic properties. Various body parts of cephalopods, including their ink, skin, muscle, and internal organs, contain a range of biologically active substances, such as peptides, polysaccharides, polyunsaturated fatty acids, chitin, collagen, and glycoproteins. These compounds exhibit potent antimicrobial, antioxidant, anticoagulant and antitumor activities, making them valuable candidates for drug discovery and biomedical innovations. In recent years, research has increasingly focused on the isolation, characterisation, and functional evaluation of these marine-derived molecules, supporting their potential applications in pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, and wound-healing formulations. This review provides a comprehensive synthesis of current scientific findings on bioactive metabolites from cephalopods, highlighting their biomedical significance and prospects for therapeutic development.