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Cited by 14Coral and Marine Ecosystems StudiesMarine Sponges and Natural ProductsAquaculture disease management and microbiota

A highly effective therapeutic ointment for treating corals with black band disease

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Eaton, Katherine R., Clark, Abigail S., Curtis, Katie, Favero, Mike, Hanna Holloway, Nathaniel, Ewen, Kristen, Muller, Erinn M.·2022·PLOS ONE
DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0276902PMC PMC9605335
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Abstract

Infectious disease outbreaks are a primary contributor to coral reef decline worldwide. A particularly lethal disease, black band disease (BBD), was one of the first coral diseases reported and has since been documented on reefs worldwide. BBD is described as a microbial consortium of photosynthetic cyanobacteria, sulfate-reducing and sulfide-oxidizing bacteria, and heterotrophic bacteria and archaea. The disease is visually identified by a characteristic dark band that moves across apparently healthy coral tissue leaving behind bare skeleton. Despite its virulence, attempts to effectively treat corals with BBD in the field have been limited. Here, we developed and tested several different therapeutic agents on Pseudodiploria spp. corals with signs of active BBD at Buck Island Reef National Monument in St. Croix, USVI. A variety of therapies were tested, including hydrogen peroxide-based treatments, ointment containing antibiotics, and antiviral/antimicrobial-based ointments (referred to as CoralCure). The CoralCure ointments, created by Ocean Alchemists LLC, focused on the dosing regimen and delivery mechanisms of the different active ingredients. Active ingredients included carbamide peroxide, Lugol’s iodine solution, along with several proprietary essential oil and natural product blends. Additionally, the active ingredients had different release times based on treatment: CoralCure A-C had a release time of 24 hours, CoralCure D-F had a release time of 72 hours. The ointments were applied directly to the BBD lesion. Also, jute rope was saturated with a subset of these CoralCure ointment formulations to assist with adhesion. These ropes were then applied to the leading edge of the BBD lesion for one week to ensure sufficient exposure. Corals were revisited approximately three to five months after treatment application to assess disease progression rates and the presence/absence of lesions—the metrics used to quantify the efficacy of each treatment. Although most of the treatments were unsuccessful, two CoralCure rope formulations—CoralCure D rope and CoralCure E rope, eliminated the appearance of BBD in 100% of the corals treated. As such, these treatments significantly reduced the likelihood of BBD occurrence compared to the untreated controls. Additionally, lesions treated with these formulations lost significantly less tissue compared with controls. These results provide the mechanisms for an easily employable method to effectively treat a worldwide coral disease.

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  • Coral colonies diagnosed via skin scrape with BJS have benefited from a treatment regimen of a coral-safe paste mixed with amoxicillin applied to affected tissues 1-3 times a week during dives.

    “coral colonies diagnosed via skin scrape with Brown Jelly Syndrome (BJS) have benefited from a treatment regimen involving a coral-safe paste (CoralCure Ointment Base2B, Ocean Alchemists LLC, Largo, FL, USA) mixed with amoxicillin (Sandoz Inc., Princeton, NJ, USA), which is applied to affected tissues 1-3 times a week during dives (Figure 5a) [12].”

    From The Iconic Philippine Coral Reef at Steinhart Aquarium: The Husbandry, Welfare, Behavior, and Veterinary Care Considerations of a Large Multi-Taxa Living Coral Reef System (2023) · cites this paper as [12]

    The Materials & methods section describes testing Base2B mixed with amoxicillin on corals with black band disease (BBD), so the treatment ingredients match. It does not describe skin-scrape diagnosis of Brown Jelly Syndrome or application 1–3 times a week. The Results (July 2020, October 2020 treatments) found no significant benefit from the antibiotic treatment over controls, and the Discussion says it did not work in this study. Page numbers were not available in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.88)

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Authors
Eaton, K. R., Clark, A. S., Curtis, K., Favero, M., Hanna Holloway, N., Ewen, K., & Muller, E. M.
Affiliations
  • National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (US)
  • Mote Marine Laboratory (US)
  • National Park Service (US)
Corresponding author
Eaton, Katherine R.
ORCID
Venue
PLOS ONE
Publisher
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Published
2022-10-26
Volume
17
Issue
10
Pages
e0276902
ISSN
1932-6203 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1371/journal.pone.0276902
PMC
PMC9605335
OpenAlex
W4307313794
Cited by
14
References
40
Citations by year
2026: 1 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 2
FWCI
1.73
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • PLoS ONE (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
  • NOAA Institutional Repository (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Funders
National Parks and Wildlife Service (240127)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Biotechnology › Marine Sponges and Natural Products
  • Life Sciences › Immunology and Microbiology › Immunology › Aquaculture disease management and microbiota
Keywords
black band disease, carbamide peroxide, Lugol's iodine, essential oils, natural products, hydrogen peroxide, antibiotics, coral reef conservation
MeSH terms
Carbamide Peroxide, Cyanobacteria, Animals, Anti-Bacterial Agents, Antiviral Agents, Biological Products, Hydrogen Peroxide, Oils, Volatile, Ointments, Sulfates, Sulfides, Anthozoa

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