Seaweed metabolite database (SWMD): A database of natural compounds from marine algae

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Title	Seaweed metabolite database (SWMD): A database of natural compounds from marine algae
Authors	G Dicky John Davis¹ & A Hannah Rachel Vasanthi²
Affiliation	¹Department of Bioinformatics, Sri Ramachandra University, Porur, Chennai, 600116 India; ²Herbal & Indian Medicine Research Laboratory (HIMRL), Department of Biochemistry, Sri Ramachandra University, Porur, Chennai, 600116 India
Email	Dicky.John@gmail.com
Phone	+914424768042
Fax	+914424765995
Article Type	Database
Date	Received November 02, 2010; Accepted January 11, 2011; Published January 22, 2011
Abstract	The cataloguing of marine chemicals is a fundamental aspect for bioprospecting. This has applications in the development of drugs from marine sources. A publicly accessible database that provides comprehensive information about these compounds is therefore helpful. The Seaweed Metabolite Database (SWMD) is designed to provide information about the known compounds and their biological activity described in the literature. Geographical origin of the seaweed, extraction method and the chemical descriptors of each the compounds are recorded to enable effective chemo-informatics analysis. Cross-links to other databases are also introduced to facilitate the access of information about 3D Structure by X-ray and NMR activity, drug properties and related literature for each compound. This database currently contains entries for 517 compounds encompassing 25 descriptive fields mostly from the Red algae of the genus Laurencia (Ceramiales, Rhodomelaceae). The customized search engine of this database will enable wildcard querying, which includes Accession Number, Compound type, Seaweed Binomial name, IUPAC name, SMILES notation or InChI.
Availability	http://www.swmd.co.in
Keywords	Seaweed, bioactive compounds, database, Laurencia, chemo-informatics
Citation	Davis & Vasanthi, Bioinformation 5(8): 361-364 (2011)
Edited by	P Kangueane
ISSN	0973-2063
Publisher	Biomedical Informatics
License	This is an Open Access article which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. This is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.