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Marine-Derived Novel Antioxidants

A special issue of Marine Drugs (ISSN 1660-3397). This special issue belongs to the section "Marine Pharmacology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2025 | Viewed by 313

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Centre of Marine Sciences—CCMAR, University of Algarve, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal
Interests: natural products; medicinal plants; halophytes; biological activities; bioactive molecules; biotechnological applications; saline cultivation; in vitro propagation; bioremediation; emerging micropollutants
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Marine ecosystems, including the ocean, marine water bodies, and surrounding environments such as salt marshes, estuaries, and coastal wetlands, harbour diverse organisms, including salt-tolerant plants, invertebrates, algae, sponges, fungi, and bacteria, all producing structurally unique antioxidant compounds. These bioactives extend beyond traditional radical scavengers, often playing roles in cellular defence, enzyme regulation, and inflammation control. This Special Issue explores new frontiers in marine-derived antioxidants, focusing on the following:

  • Novel compounds: Identifying and characterizing antioxidants such as polyphenols, sulfated polysaccharides, peptides, carotenoids, and mycosporine-like amino acids.
  • Sustainable sourcing: Innovative extraction techniques, microbial biosynthesis, and the valorization of marine byproducts and invasive species.
  • Biological activity and mechanisms: Investigating how marine antioxidants influence oxidative stress pathways, inflammation, and neuroprotection.
  • Industrial applications: Utilization in functional foods, nutraceuticals, skincare, and pharmaceuticals.
  • Environmental impact: Emphasizing sustainability by promoting circular economy approaches in marine biotechnology.

By integrating bioprospecting, eco-friendly processing, and biomedical innovation, this Special Issue aims to highlight marine-derived antioxidants as being sustainable and high-value resources for health and industry.

Dr. Luísa Custódio
Dr. Maria João Rodrigues
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Marine Drugs is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • antioxidant agents
  • oxidative stress
  • marine organisms
  • anti-inflammatory agents
  • marine biotechnology

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

15 pages, 1527 KiB  
Article
Marine-Inspired Ovothiol Analogs Inhibit Membrane-Bound Gamma-Glutamyl-Transpeptidase and Modulate Reactive Oxygen Species and Glutathione Levels in Human Leukemic Cells
by Annalisa Zuccarotto, Maria Russo, Annamaria Di Giacomo, Alessandra Casale, Aleksandra Mitrić, Serena Leone, Gian Luigi Russo and Immacolata Castellano
Mar. Drugs 2025, 23(8), 308; https://doi.org/10.3390/md23080308 - 30 Jul 2025
Viewed by 176
Abstract
The enzyme γ-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT), located on the surface of cellular membranes, hydrolyzes extracellular glutathione (GSH) to guarantee the recycling of cysteine and maintain intracellular redox homeostasis. High expression levels of GGT on tumor cells are associated with increased cell proliferation and resistance [...] Read more.
The enzyme γ-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT), located on the surface of cellular membranes, hydrolyzes extracellular glutathione (GSH) to guarantee the recycling of cysteine and maintain intracellular redox homeostasis. High expression levels of GGT on tumor cells are associated with increased cell proliferation and resistance against chemotherapy. Therefore, GGT inhibitors have potential as adjuvants in treating GGT-positive tumors; however, most have been abandoned during clinical trials due to toxicity. Recent studies indicate marine-derived ovothiols as more potent non-competitive GGT inhibitors, inducing a mixed cell-death phenotype of apoptosis and autophagy in GGT-overexpressing cell lines, such as the chronic B leukemic cell HG-3, while displaying no toxicity towards non-proliferative cells. In this work, we characterize the activity of two synthetic ovothiol analogs, L-5-sulfanylhistidine and iso-ovothiol A, in GGT-positive cells, such as HG-3 and HL-60 cells derived from acute promyelocytic leukemia. The two compounds inhibit the activity of membrane-bound GGT, without altering cell vitality nor inducing cytotoxic autophagy in HG-3 cells. We provide evidence that a portion of L-5-sulfanylhistidine enters HG-3 cells and acts as a redox regulator, contributing to the increase in intracellular GSH. On the other hand, ovothiol A, which is mostly sequestered by external membrane-bound GGT, induces intracellular ROS increase and the consequent autophagic pathways. These findings provide the basis for developing ovothiol derivatives as adjuvants in treating GGT-positive tumors’ chemoresistance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Marine-Derived Novel Antioxidants)
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