Medical Uses of Coral

As we are discovering more and more plants in the rain forest, which can be used by the pharmaceutical industry in drugs, so we are finding that there are many uses for components in coral as well. Although these drugs aid doctors and their patients, this gives us another reason to conserve the reefs even more! To date, there have been several important discoveries regarding the components in coral. We hope with enough research, these pharmaceutical companies will put this information to good use. But does this also put the reefs at risk, or is there a way to grow the coral in a laboratory? These are issues we need to be aware of, as science progresses and finds new things in nature that can be used for the benefit of humankind. Let's take a look at what coral can offer, by way of medical uses.

Bristol-Myers Squibb, one of the largest pharmaceutical companies, has found a chemical in coral, to which they now own the patent and license, and goes by the name of "Eleutherobin". This chemical is the latest drug which carries with it the hope of preventing both breast and ovarian cancer. It works by attaching itself to a certain protein within cells and making it inflexible, which then prevents the cancer cells from splitting and multiplying. Another drug by the name of "Taxol" works in a similar way.

Two other chemicals have been found in a soft coral from the Pacific, called Sarcophytols A and B, which work to prevent the growth of tumours.

In 1992, the Food and Drug Administration, (A.K.A FDA), approved the used of hydroxyapatite for use in bone grafts. This is a component that is found in the bony part of marine coral and can be used as an implant in people who have had some kind of trauma such as a fracture or other damage. Its structure is similar to that of human bone and therefore if a piece is implanted into an area which has suffered a breakage, it will cause the bone to fill in the small voids and assimilate the HDA into the human body, thus biologically acceptable.

Researchers have also been able to use coral for their research into cancer and viruses such as HIV. It had been noted by scientists that certain coral which appeared to glow, could absorb color of one variety and give out color of another. This is caused by a particular kind of protein in the marine coral. Using this - by introducing the protein molecules into a cancer or virus cell and allowing them to attach, then illuminating the cells with a particular color as they divide, shows them the process by which cancer and HIV multiply and spread - processes they hadn't been able to see prior to that point.

Calcium has been extracted from coral for many years and there have been claims that it is able to cure or alleviate a number of conditions such as - arthritis, osteoporosis, eczema, heart disease, etc. Researchers claim that coral can aid in blood clotting, in restoring the body’s pH to an alkaline level, it helps to detox the kidneys and liver and clean out the intestines, but we must remember to preserve our ocean’s reefs. Coral can be used to cure illnesses, but we need to preserve coral reefs so that our children’s children can one day enjoy the spectacular environment and delight of diving at a coral reef!