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Pharmaceuticals
Special Issues
Identification and Extraction of Bioactive Compounds from Marine Life
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Identification and Extraction of Bioactive Compounds from Marine Life

A special issue of Pharmaceuticals (ISSN 1424-8247). This special issue belongs to the section "Natural Products".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (27 March 2026) | Viewed by 1905

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Monde Mc Millan Ntwasa

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Life & Consumer Sciences, College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa
Interests: anticancer drugs; antimicrobial drugs; oncology; small molecule drugs
Prof. Dr. Wilfred T. Mabusela

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Chemistry, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa
Interests: phytochemistry; natural products; complex carbohydrates

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The discovery and development of new pharmaceuticals to address the increase in global cancer and infectious diseases is an urgent scientific challenge. Natural products remain the foundation of drug discovery and development research. Many emerging anticancer and antimicrobial drugs have their origins in nature. However, the molecular diversity of the oceans, a potential source of many clinical solutions, has not been fully explored. The marine environment, with its unique and extreme conditions, is a rich source of ecological competition, resistance to environmental threats, and sophisticated communication mechanisms. This environment harbors novel biomolecules with untapped pharmaceutical potential, making natural products the linchpin of global new drug discovery. A staggering 63% of new anticancer drugs in the market are linked to natural products; yet, the molecular diversity of the oceans, which cover 70% of the planet and 95% of the biosphere, remains largely untapped. Marine life, including microorganisms, is a treasure trove of protective molecular products that can withstand environmental conditions, ecological competition, and communication. These scenarios provide opportunities for bioprospecting bioactive compounds. The global scientific community is coming together to exploit these properties and develop robust, novel clinical products. This Special Issue aims to document these collective efforts to unearth bioactive products from the marine environment and catalogue existing and potential bioactive compounds for clinical use, making you a part of this larger scientific community.

Prof. Dr. Monde Mc Millan Ntwasa
Prof. Dr. Wilfred T. Mabusela
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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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. Pharmaceuticals 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

  • natural products
  • marine life
  • bioactive compounds
  • cancer
  • antimicrobials

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 2636 KB  
Article
Chemical Profiling and Mechanistic Insights into Stichopodidae Viscus Extract for Ulcerative Colitis via UPLC-IMS-Q-TOF-HDMSE and Network Pharmacology
by Liying Wang, Yinuo Liu, Nali Chen, Shanshan Xiao, Shuang Yang and Zhihua Lv
Pharmaceuticals 2026, 19(3), 470; https://doi.org/10.3390/ph19030470 - 12 Mar 2026
Viewed by 583
Abstract
Background: The visceral organs of sea cucumbers belonging to the family Stichopodidae, also known as Stichopodidae Viscus (SV), have been traditionally used for the management of gastrointestinal disorders. Experimental evidence has shown that the ethanol extract of SV (SVE) alleviates ulcerative colitis (UC) [...] Read more.
Background: The visceral organs of sea cucumbers belonging to the family Stichopodidae, also known as Stichopodidae Viscus (SV), have been traditionally used for the management of gastrointestinal disorders. Experimental evidence has shown that the ethanol extract of SV (SVE) alleviates ulcerative colitis (UC) symptoms in a mouse model. However, the chemical constituents of SVE and the potential molecular targets mediating its effects in UC remain unclear. Methods: In this study, SVE was prepared from Apostichopus japonicus (Selenka). A reliable and sensitive strategy integrating advanced analytical and informatics tools was employed to profile the chemical components of SVE. Analyses were performed using ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with ion mobility spectrometry and quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry operating in high-definition MSE (UPLC-IMS-Q-TOF-HDMSE), with data processed using the UNIFI scientific information system. Constituent identification relied on retention time (RT), accurate mass (MS1), experimentally acquired HDMSE (MS2) spectra, and collision cross-section (CCS). Metabolomics-based approaches were further applied to characterize the in vivo exposure profile of SVE components in mouse serum and colon tissue after oral administration. Subsequently, the putative bioactive constituents and their underlying mechanisms of action were investigated using network pharmacology and molecular docking. Results: Based on the integrated identification strategy, a total of 78 compounds, including saponins, phenolic acids, fatty acids, and amino acids, were annotated in SVE, among which 6 compounds were verified using authentic reference standards to ensure unambiguous identification. Subsequently, 35 features in serum and 24 in the colon were found to be significantly altered following a single oral dose of SVE in mice, and were defined as SVE-related differential constituents. After network pharmacology analyses, 129 shared targets were identified between potential targets of SVE-related components in serum and UC-related targets, including PIK3CA, EGFR, and AKT1. Functional enrichment analysis suggested that SVE might exert its effects in UC through modulation of key nodes within the PI3K-Akt and EGFR signaling pathways, as well as lipid- and atherosclerosis-related pathways. Molecular docking results further indicated moderate binding affinities of representative SVE-related differential components toward PIK3CA, AKT1, and EGFR. Conclusions: This study clarifies the chemical basis and potential UC-related mechanisms of SVE, providing a scientific rationale for the development of SV-derived therapeutic candidates for UC. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Identification and Extraction of Bioactive Compounds from Marine Life)
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20 pages, 3474 KB  
Article
A Marine Anticancer Cinnamyloxyl Derivative with Unique Binding Sites at Carbonic Anhydrase IX (CAIX) Inhibits Adenocarcinomic A549 Cells
by Shailaja Vommi Lakshmipathy, Christina Vijayaraghavan Sathyanathan, Mohanapriya Dandapani Chinambedu, Mohanraj Gopikrishnan, Abhinand Ponneri Adithavarman, Sadras Panchatcharam Thyagarajan and Mary Elizabeth Gnanambal Krishnan
Pharmaceuticals 2026, 19(1), 132; https://doi.org/10.3390/ph19010132 - 12 Jan 2026
Viewed by 857
Abstract
Background: Many inhibitors have been discovered to target hypoxia-induced carbonic anhydrase IX (CAIX) due to its critical role in lung cancers. This study discovers a novel compound, 3-(E-3,4-dihydroxycinnamaoyloxyl)-2-hydroxypropyl-9Z,12Z-octadeca-9,12-dienoate, which is produced by the seagrass Cymodocea serrulata and has binding sites at CAIX that [...] Read more.
Background: Many inhibitors have been discovered to target hypoxia-induced carbonic anhydrase IX (CAIX) due to its critical role in lung cancers. This study discovers a novel compound, 3-(E-3,4-dihydroxycinnamaoyloxyl)-2-hydroxypropyl-9Z,12Z-octadeca-9,12-dienoate, which is produced by the seagrass Cymodocea serrulata and has binding sites at CAIX that are distinct from those of current inhibitors. Methods: Compound and reference drug treatment for cell lines; Cell viability: MTT; Staining: Ao/PI/DAPI; MMP shifts and cell cycle: FACS; Gene and protein expression of CAIX, BAX, BAD: qPCR and Western blotting. Results: The compound binds to the CAIX protein, raises extracellular pH, and kills A549 cells [IC50: 11.61 µM], producing results that are lower than those of the reference drug doxorubicin [13.7 µM]. The substance depolarised the electrical potential of the mitochondrial membrane, caused S-phase arrest, and fragmented DNA. Additionally, it downregulated CAIX by 0.9 times while increasing apoptotic mRNA, BAX and BAD by 5.2 and 3.08 times, respectively, as demonstrated by qPCR. Between 0 and 24 h, the untreated hypoxic cells had a ΔpHe of 0.15, but the compound-treated cells had a ΔpHe of 0.6 indicative of intracellular acidosis. MD simulations verify the stability of the CAIX–C1 complex for more than 100 ns, and in silico studies show a strong binding affinity of the molecule to CAIX [−7.55 kcal/mol]. Conclusions: This implies that the amount of extracellular alkalosis was increased by the combination of treatment and hypoxia induction. As a result, when the cells were deprived of O2, the compound provided less defense against ROS. The compound binds to the glutamine and alanine amino acids at positions 242 and 392, respectively, at the central Zn atom of CAIX, which sets it apart from conventional sulphonamide CAIX inhibitors. This naturally occurring compound may be a potent CAIX inhibitor with newer binding sites, which could help treat hypoxic lung cancers. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Identification and Extraction of Bioactive Compounds from Marine Life)
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