| Summary: | Includes bibliographical references (leaves 149-163). === Oesophageal cancer is the most common cause of cancer related deaths among black males in South Africa. Currently there are very limited treatment options, and patients have a very poor prognosis, due in part to the late stage at which this cancer is usually detected. In this thesis we describe the establishment of a screening assay using an oesophageal cancer cell line as a model. It was our hope that this screen would allow us to identify compounds which have activity against oesophageal cancer, that could be used as lead agents for further development of chemotherapeutic agents. Once our screen was established, we tested a wide range of extracts from southern African marine organisms, supplied by our collaborators from Rhodes University, South Africa. The marine environment represents a rich, untapped repository of novel and interesting compounds, and through our collaboration we had access to a wide range of marine-derived extracts and compounds. During the course of this project we provided screening data to assist in activity-directed fractionation from five active marine extracts, giving rise to 15 compounds of varying activity. These included several groups of novel active compounds such as the makaluvic acids from the sponge Strongylodesma aliwaliensis and the malonganenones from the octocoral Leptogorgia gi/christii. The identification of a number of novel, active compounds through our screening program highlights the potential of marine organisms from the southern African coast as a source of novel drug leads.
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