Marine Drugs, Volume 22, Issue 9

The blue crab (Callinectes sapidus), originally from the western Atlantic Ocean, has recently spread to the Mediterranean and is now considered one of the one hundred most invasive species in that region. This opportunistic species, known for its ada...

A novel vibriophage vB_VpaM_XM1 (XM1) was described in the present study. Morphological analysis revealed that phage XM1 had Myovirus morphology, with an oblate icosahedral head and a long contractile tail. The genome size of XM1 is 46,056 bp, with a...

As a natural preservative, nisin is widely used in the food industry, while its application in biomedicine is limited due to its susceptibility to interference from external conditions. In this study, a nanoparticle–hydrogel composite system wa...

The alarming pace of species extinction severely threatens terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, undermining the crucial ecological services vital for environmental sustainability and human well-being. Anthropogenic activities, such as urbanization, ag...

Marine natural products comprise unique chemical structures and vast varieties of biological activities. This review aims to summarize halichondrin, a marine natural product, and its synthetic analogs along with its therapeutic properties and mechani...

Meroterpenoid-type marine natural compounds have attracted an increasing amount of attention due to their peculiar chemical structures and their potential for the development of therapeutically important probes. Within this group of substances peloro...

Marine microbial secondary metabolites with diversified structures have been found as promising sources of anti-inflammatory lead compounds. This review summarizes the sources, chemical structures, and pharmacological properties of anti-inflammatory...

Acanthamoeba is a ubiquitous genus of amoebae that can trigger a severe and progressive ocular disease known as Acanthamoeba Keratitis (AK). Furthermore, current treatment protocols are based on the combination of different compounds that are not ful...

We describe five new isolates of two Gambierdiscus species from Bahía de La Paz in the southern Gulf of California. Batch cultures of Gambierdiscus were established for morphological characterization using light microscopy (LM) and scanning el...

Excessive melanogenesis leads to hyperpigmentation-related cosmetic problems. UV exposure increases oxidative stress, which promotes melanogenesis-related signal pathways such as the PKA, microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF), tyrosin...

For thousands of years, pearl and nacre powders have been important traditional Chinese medicines known for their skin whitening effects. To prepare the enzymatic hydrolysates of Hyriopsis cumingii nacre powder (NP-HCH), complex enzymatic hydrolysis...

This study explores the reasons behind the variations in the enantioselectivity of the sulfoxidation of methyl phenyl sulfide by marine-derived vanadium-dependent haloperoxidases (VHPOs). Twelve new VHPOs of marine organisms were overexpressed, purif...

Pseudomonas poae PMA22 produces safracins, a family of compounds with potent broad-spectrum anti-bacterial and anti-tumor activities. The safracins’ biosynthetic gene cluster (BGC sac) consists of 11 ORFs organized in two divergent operons (sac...

The role of oxidative stress in health and homeostasis has generated interest in the scientific community due to its association with cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases, cancer, and other diseases. Therefore, extensive research seeks to id...

The current scenario of antifouling (AF) strategies to prevent the natural process of marine biofouling is based in the use of antifouling paints containing different active ingredients, believed to be harmful to the marine environment. Compounds cal...

Alginate lyase is an attractive biocatalyst that can specifically degrade alginate to produce oligosaccharides, showing great potential for industrial and medicinal applications. Herein, an alginate-degrading strain HB236076 was isolated from Sargass...

This study employed a diverse approach to extract antioxidant peptides from red seaweed Palmaria palmata, recognized for its comparatively high protein content. Initially, an aqueous extraction of the entire seaweed was performed, followed by enzymat...

The aim of this research was to synthesize and characterize alginate–calcium composites using a freeze-drying method, with a focus on their potential applications in biomedicine. This study specifically explored the biochemical properties of these co...

Cyanobacteria are rich producers of secondary metabolites, excreting some of these to the culture media. However, the exometabolome of cyanobacteria has been poorly studied, and few studies have dwelled on its characterization and bioactivity assessm...

In the era of the blue bio-economy, which promotes the sustainable utilization and exploitation of marine resources for economic growth and development, the fisheries and aquaculture industries still face huge sustainability issues. One of the major...

Altechromone A, also known as 2,5-dimethyl-7-hydroxychromone, is a hydroxyketone containing one hydroxyl and one ketone group. In this study, we isolated Altechromone A from the marine-derived fungus Penicillium Chrysogenum (XY-14-0-4). Previous repo...

The actinomycete genus Rhodococcus is known for its diverse biosynthetic enzymes, with potential in pollutant degradation, chemical biocatalysis, and natural product exploration. Comparative genomics have analyzed the distribution patterns of non-rib...

Sphaerococcenol A is a cytotoxic bromoditerpene biosynthesized by the red alga Sphaerococcus coronopifolius. A series of its analogues (1–6) was designed and semi-synthesized using thiol-Michael additions and enone reduction, and the structures...

Twelve compounds, including four undescribed cytochalasins, xylariachalasins A–D (1–4), four undescribed polyketides (5–8), and four known cytochalasins (9–12), were isolated from the mangrove endophytic fungus Xylaria arbuscu...

Microalgae, stemming from a complex evolutionary lineage, possess a metabolic composition influenced by their evolutionary journey. They have the capacity to generate diverse polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), akin to those found in terrestrial pla...

The marine environment represents a formidable source of biodiversity, is still largely unexplored, and has high pharmacological potential. Indeed, several bioactive marine natural products (MNPs), including immunomodulators, have been identified in...

Light quality is a key factor affecting algal growth and biomass composition, particularly pigments such as carotenoids, known for their antioxidant properties. Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are becoming a cost-effective solution for indoor seaweed pr...

Four new sesquiterpenoids, talaroterpenes A–D (1–4), were isolated from the mangrove-derived fungus Talaromyces sp. SCSIO 41412. The structures of compounds 1–4 were elucidated through comprehensive NMR and MS spectroscopic analyses...

There has been no specific review on the secondary metabolites from soft corals of the genus Capnella till now. In this work, all secondary metabolites from different species of the title genus were described. It covered the first work from 1974 to M...

Seaweed extracts, especially fucoidan, are well known for their immune-modulating abilities. In this current study, we extracted fucoidan from Costaria costata, a seaweed commonly found in coastal Asia, and examined its anti-inflammatory effect. Fuco...

We here report the purification of a novel member of the galectin family, the β-galactoside-binding lectin hRTL, from the marine sponge Chondrilla australiensis. The hRTL lectin is a tetrameric proto-type galectin with a subunit molecular weight...

Hyaluronic acid (HA) is a well-known functional marine polysaccharide. The utilization and derivative development of HA are of great interest. Hyaluronan lyase has wide application prospects in the production of HA oligosaccharides and lower molecula...

Ulva prolifera, a type of green algae that can be consumed, was utilized in the production of an angiotensin-I converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory peptide. The protein from the algae was isolated and subsequently hydrolyzed using a neutral protease. T...

Recent advancements in the large-scale cultivation of Tetraselmis sp. in Korea have enabled year-round production of this marine microalgae. This study explores the potential industrial applications of Tetraselmis sp. biomass by investigating the ant...

Stonikacidin A (1), the first representative of a new class of 4-bromopyrrole alkaloids containing an aldonic acid core, was isolated from the marine sponge Lissodendoryx papillosa. The compound is named in honor of Prof. Valentin A. Stonik, who is o...

Cyclophosphamide (CP) is an anticancer drug that causes infertility disorders. This study was designed to evaluate a nanoformulation of chitosan with an ethanolic extract from Spirulina platensis in terms of its protection against cyclophosphamide-in...

The management of vision-threatening retinal diseases remains challenging due to the lack of an effective drug delivery system. Encapsulated cell therapy (ECT) offers a promising approach for the continuous delivery of therapeutic agents without the...

Two new C₂₃-steroids derivatives, cyclocitrinoic acid A (1) and cyclocitrinoic acid B (2), and a new isocoumarin metabolite, (3R,4S)-6,8-dihydroxy-3,4,5-trimethyl-7-carboxamidelisocoumarin (10), together with 12 known compounds (3–9, 11–1...

A chemical investigation of the extracts from the soft coral Litophyton brassicum led to the isolation and identification of four new meroterpenes, brassihydroxybenzoquinone A and B (1 and 2) and brassinaphthoquinone A and B (3 and 4), along with two...

Glioblastoma represents the predominant and a highly aggressive primary neoplasm of the central nervous system that has an abnormal metabolism. Our previous study showed that chrysomycin A (Chr-A) curbed glioblastoma progression in vitro and in vivo....

α-Conotoxins are disulfide-rich peptides obtained from the venom of cone snails, which are considered potential molecular probes and drug leads for nAChR-related disorders. However, low specificity towards different nAChR subtypes restricts the...

Aeruginosins are common metabolites of cyanobacteria. In the course of re-isolation of the known aeruginosins KT608A and KT608B for bioassay studies, we isolated three new sulfated aeruginosins, named aeruginosins KT688 (1), KT718 (2), and KT575 (3),...

The rapid evolution of drug resistance is one of the greatest health issues of the 21st century. There is an alarming situation to find new therapeutic strategies or candidate drugs to tackle ongoing multi-drug resistance development. The marine envi...

This study investigated the effects of herbicide exposure on Navicula sp. (MASCC-0035) algae, focusing on growth density, chlorophyll content, antioxidant system, and lipid metabolism. Navicula cultures were exposed to different concentrations of atr...

Microalgae are considered promising sustainable feedstocks for the production of food, food additives, feeds, chemicals and various high-value products. Marine microalgae Phaeodactylum tricornutum, Isochrysis galbana and Nitzschia laevis are rich in...

Marine antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) represent a promising source for combating infections, especially against antibiotic-resistant pathogens and traditionally challenging infections. However, traditional drug discovery methods face challenges such a...

Three new polyketides, including three ester derivatives (1, 3, and 5) and a new natural product, which was a benzoquinone derivative, embelin A (4), together with nine known ones (2 and 6–13), were isolated from the mangrove-derived fungus Pen...

This study aimed to assess the anti-inflammatory properties of a bioactive glutamic-alanine rich glycoprotein (GP) derived from Undaria pinnatifida on both LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 cells, peritoneal macrophages, and mouse models of carrageenan- and xy...

Acid-sensing ion channels (ASICs), which act as proton-gating sodium channels, have garnered attention as pharmacological targets. ASIC1a isoform, notably prevalent in the central nervous system, plays an important role in synaptic plasticity, anxiet...

Arthrospira platensis holds promise for biotechnological applications due to its rapid growth and ability to produce valuable bioactive compounds like phycocyanin (PC). This study explores the impact of salinity and brewery wastewater (BWW) on the mi...