For years, tropical rainforests have been explored for medicinal cures and treatments. Treatments for such ailments as cancer have been credited to compounds found in rainforest plants. Research in the realm of marine pharmaceuticals has over the past decade fast become a profitable industry, producing highly valuable and effective substances.
Coral reefs are a part of an amazing environment, home to a rich abundance of life.
Over 500 million years ago, in warm tropical climates, coral reefs formed. Approximately 5,000 species of reef fish, and more than 2,500 species of coral have been identified. Additionally, in this highly productive ecosystem, algae and seagrasses are the two main types of plants found. Together, these plants and animals work in balance to maintain an extremely fertile underwater world containing numerous medicinal treasures, many still to be discovered. Some treatments that have already been found are derived from such sources as sponges, corals, snails, and algae.