About This Project

Anxiety disorders affect hundreds of millions of people worldwide, yet current medications are often slow to work or carry heavy side effects. Our project aims to discover safer, faster-acting treatments by tapping into the hidden chemical wealth of marine brown algae. By utilizing high-throughput fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) behavioral models, we will rapidly screen ocean algal extracts from the coasts of Puerto Rico to identify powerful new candidates for anti-anxiety therapy.

Ask the Scientists

What is the context of this research?

Anxiety disorders are incredibly disabling, putting a massive burden on global healthcare systems. While common medications like SSRIs are widely prescribed, they can take weeks to kick in and don't work for everyone. On the other hand, fast-acting alternatives like benzodiazepines risk causing sedation, tolerance, and dependence. There is an urgent, continuing need for a completely new class of fast-acting, safe anti-anxiety options. Marine macroalgae—specifically brown algae—are a treasure trove of unique, under-explored compounds like polyphenols and phlorotannins. These natural metabolites have already shown incredible antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and neuroprotective properties in experimental settings. However, their direct effects on behavior and brain chemistry remain a mystery. We are stepping in to bridge this gap.

What is the significance of this project?

Anxiety disorders are among the most prevalent mental health conditions worldwide, underscoring the need for new and accessible therapeutic approaches. Marine macroalgae are an underexplored source of bioactive metabolites, yet their potential effects on anxiety-related behavior remain poorly characterized. This project is significant because it combines the advantages of Drosophila melanogaster as a cost-effective model with automated behavioral technologies that enable reproducible, and high-throughput assessment of anxiety-like phenotypes. This study will establish a powerful platform for identifying promising natural-product candidates with anxiolytic-like activity. The project will also create a foundation for subsequent chemical and molecular studies to identify active compounds and elucidate their mechanisms of action, potentially contributing to the discovery of novel therapeutic strategies while highlighting the biomedical value of Puerto Rico’s marine biodiversity.

What are the goals of the project?

This project will develop and validate an automated Drosophila melanogaster (wild-type Oregon R strain) platform to identify marine macroalgal extracts with potential anxiolytic-like activity. The Open Field and Dark-Light Box tests will measure exploratory activity, spatial distribution, movement, and light-dark preference. Locomotion using Rapid Iterative Negative Geotropism (RING) assays will be assessed to distinguish anxiolytic-like effects from general activity changes. Wild-type flies will receive algal extracts and be compared with untreated, vehicle, and positive (exposed to Muscimol) pharmacological controls. Selected marine macroalgae of the genres Stypopodium, Padina, and Dictyota, collected in the coasts of Puerto Rico, will be screened as complex extracts. The eventual chemical identification of individual compounds may guide future studies of their mechanisms and therapeutic potential.