Kriti Shah and Ravi Kant Upadhyay*

Department of Zoology, D D U Gorakhpur University, Gorakhpur, 273009. U.P. India

*Corresponding Author: Ravi Kant Upadhyay, Department of Zoology, D D U Gorakhpur University, Gorakhpur, 273009. U.P. India.

Received: December 08, 2025; Published: December 22, 2025

Abstract

This review article explains the therapeutic, pharmacological, and biomedical uses of marine and terrestrial molluscs. There are two categories of molluscs: the first one is those that synthesise toxins, and the second is those that inhabit marine algae or protozoans and store. These toxins are used in defence or predation. These toxins pose risks to human health as they impose paralytic (PSP), amnesic (ASP), diarrhetic (DSP), and neurotoxic (NSP) effects. This article sketches out the biological effects of conotoxins, Saxitoxin, Tetrodotoxin, Okadaic acid, Domoic acid (DA) and Brevetoxins (BTXs), Yessotoxin (YTX), Gymnodimine, Neosaxitoxin (NeoSTX), Pectenotoxin (PTX), and dinophysistoxin. These toxins bind to different receptor sites and act in various ways. This article explores the mechanisms of action of marine mollusc toxins, their stability, and their binding to various ion channels. Marine mollusc toxins act more specifically and exhibit anticancer, anti-proliferative, anti-angiogenic, antioxidant, anti-allergic, proteolytic, antidiabetic, antimicrobial, anti-parasitic, and anti-helmintic activities. These are used in cardiovascular diseases and wound healing.

Keywords: Marine Molluscs; Conotoxins; Tetrodotoxins; Proteolytic Activity; Antidiabetic; Antimicrobial; Anti-Parasitic; Anthelmintic Activity

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Citation

Citation: Kriti Shah and Ravi Kant Upadhyay. “Therapeutic, Pharmacological and Biomedical Uses of Marine and Terrestrial Molluscs: A Review". Acta Scientific Pharmaceutical Sciences 10.1 (2026): 18-33.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2026 Kriti Shah and Ravi Kant Upadhyay. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.