Mar. Drugs 2012, 10(12), 2795-2816; doi:10.3390/md10122795
Review

The Antiviral Activities and Mechanisms of Marine Polysaccharides: An Overview

Wei Wang 1,2,* email, Shi-Xin Wang 1 email and Hua-Shi Guan 1,2 email
1 Key Laboratory of Marine Drugs, Ministry of Education, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, China 2 Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Glycoscience & Glycoengineering, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, China
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 1 November 2012; in revised form: 26 November 2012 / Accepted: 29 November 2012 / Published: 12 December 2012
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Abstract: Recently, the studies on the antiviral activities of marine natural products, especially marine polysaccharides, are attracting more and more attention all over the world. Marine-derived polysaccharides and their lower molecular weight oligosaccharide derivatives have been shown to possess a variety of antiviral activities. This paper will review the recent progress in research on the antiviral activities and the mechanisms of these polysaccharides obtained from marine organisms. In particular, it will provide an update on the antiviral actions of the sulfated polysaccharides derived from marine algae including carrageenans, alginates, and fucans, relating to their structure features and the structure–activity relationships. In addition, the recent findings on the different mechanisms of antiviral actions of marine polysaccharides and their potential for therapeutic application will also be summarized in detail.
Keywords: marine polysaccharides; antiviral activities; mechanisms of action; heparinoid polysaccharide; structure–activity relationship

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Cite This Article

MDPI and ACS Style

Wang, W.; Wang, S.-X.; Guan, H.-S. The Antiviral Activities and Mechanisms of Marine Polysaccharides: An Overview. Mar. Drugs 2012, 10, 2795-2816.

AMA Style

Wang W, Wang S-X, Guan H-S. The Antiviral Activities and Mechanisms of Marine Polysaccharides: An Overview. Marine Drugs. 2012; 10(12):2795-2816.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Wang, Wei; Wang, Shi-Xin; Guan, Hua-Shi. 2012. "The Antiviral Activities and Mechanisms of Marine Polysaccharides: An Overview." Mar. Drugs 10, no. 12: 2795-2816.

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