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Pharmaceuticals
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Chemistry and Biomedical Potential of Marine Natural Products 2023
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Chemistry and Biomedical Potential of Marine Natural Products 2023

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2023) | Viewed by 4650

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Maria Letizia Ciavatta

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Guest Editor
National Research Council (CNR) - Institute of Biomolecular Chemistry (ICB), Pozzuoli, Italy
Interests: natural product chemistry; bioactivity; spectroscopy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Marianna Carbone

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Guest Editor
National Research Council (CNR) - Institute of Biomolecular Chemistry (ICB), Pozzuoli, Italy
Interests: marine natural compounds; marine ecology; drug discovery; organic chemistry; NMR
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are delighted to announce the launch of the second edition of the Special Issue on “Chemistry and Biomedical Potential of Marine Natural Products”, whose first edition captured the interest of a multidisciplinary audience.

The development of natural marine products as drugs, which began in the late 1950s, saw a real renaissance in the early 21st century when, supported by modern biochemical approaches, numerous compounds from the sea entered the pharmaceutical market. Today, we can count on several compounds of marine origin with a wide spectrum of bioactivity, including anticancer agents with peculiar mechanisms of action and products that have found application as anti-hyperlipidemic, non-opioid painkillers, as well as anti-inflammatory agents. Although the development of a drug from a natural substance is a lengthy process and a challenge for the scientific community, today, thanks to interdisciplinary approaches, it is possible to exploit through fast and bio-sustainable methods the enormous potential that the chemical diversity of natural marine compounds offers us.

In this light, this new Special Issue aims to collect new contributions on i) novel compounds isolated from marine invertebrates and associated organisms that have shown interesting biological and pharmacological properties, ii) new insights into the mechanism of action of known bioactive marine molecules, and iii) strategies for a sustainable exploitation of marine product derivatives.

Dr. Maria Letizia Ciavatta
Dr. Marianna Carbone
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. 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

  • marine natural products
  • bioactivity
  • drug discovery
  • medicinal chemistry
  • synthesis
  • structure elucidation

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 3914 KiB  
Article
Pro-Apoptotic Activity of Epi-Obtusane against Cervical Cancer: Nano Formulation, In Silico Molecular Docking, and Pharmacological Network Analysis
by Omnia Hesham Abdelhafez, Islam M. Abdel-Rahman, Eman Alaaeldin, Hesham Refaat, Refat El-Sayed, Sami A. Al-Harbi, Ahmed M. Shawky, Mohamed-Elamir F. Hegazy, Alaa Y. Moustafa and Nourhan Hisham Shady
Pharmaceuticals 2023, 16(11), 1578; https://doi.org/10.3390/ph16111578 - 8 Nov 2023
Viewed by 1191
Abstract
Cancer is a major disease that threatens human health all over the world. Intervention and prevention in premalignant processes are successful ways to prevent cancer from striking. On the other hand, the marine ecosystem is a treasure storehouse of promising bioactive metabolites. The [...] Read more.
Cancer is a major disease that threatens human health all over the world. Intervention and prevention in premalignant processes are successful ways to prevent cancer from striking. On the other hand, the marine ecosystem is a treasure storehouse of promising bioactive metabolites. The use of such marine products can be optimized by selecting a suitable nanocarrier. Therefore, epi-obtusane, previously isolated from Aplysia oculifera, was investigated for its potential anticancer effects toward cervical cancer through a series of in vitro assays in HeLa cells using the MTT assay method. Additionally, the sesquiterpene was encapsulated within a liposomal formulation (size = 130.8 ± 50.3, PDI = 0.462, zeta potential −12.3 ± 2.3), and the antiproliferative potential of epi-obtusane was investigated against the human cervical cancer cell line HeLa before and after encapsulation with liposomes. Epi-obtusane exhibited a potent effect against the HeLa cell line, while the formulated molecule with liposomes increased the in vitro antiproliferative activity. Additionally, cell cycle arrest analysis, as well as the apoptosis assay, performed via FITC-Annexin-V/propidium iodide double staining (flow cytofluorimetry), were carried out. The pharmacological network enabled us to deliver further insights into the mechanism of epi-obtusane, suggesting that STAT3 might be targeted by the compound. Moreover, molecular docking showed a comparable binding score of the isolated compound towards the STAT3 SH2 domain. The targets possess an anticancer effect through the endometrial cancer pathway, regulation of DNA templated transcription, and nitric oxide synthase, as mentioned by the KEGG and ShinyGo 7.1 databases. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Chemistry and Biomedical Potential of Marine Natural Products 2023)
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20 pages, 4839 KiB  
Article
Bioactivity of Falkenbergia rufolanosa Methanolic Extract: Assessment of Its Effect on Methyl-Thiophanate Induced Bone and Blood Disorders
by Amal Feki, Intissar Kammoun, Malek Eleroui, Rim Kallel, Fatma Megdiche, Liwa Hariz, Tahia Boudawara, Choumous Kallel, Hatem Kallel, Jean Marc Pujo and Ibtissem Ben Amara
Pharmaceuticals 2023, 16(4), 529; https://doi.org/10.3390/ph16040529 - 1 Apr 2023
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Abstract
This study aimed to evaluate the potentiality of a mineral and antioxidant-rich methanolic extract of the red marine alga Falkenbergia rufolanosa (FRE) against methyl-thiophanate (MT)-induced toxicity in adult rats. The animals were allocated into four groups: controls, MT (300 mg/kg), MT + FRE, [...] Read more.
This study aimed to evaluate the potentiality of a mineral and antioxidant-rich methanolic extract of the red marine alga Falkenbergia rufolanosa (FRE) against methyl-thiophanate (MT)-induced toxicity in adult rats. The animals were allocated into four groups: controls, MT (300 mg/kg), MT + FRE, and FRE-treated group for 7 days. Our results demonstrated severe mineral perturbations due to MT treatment, especially in calcium and phosphorus levels in plasma, urine, and bone. Similarly, the hematological analysis revealed increased red blood cells, platelets, and white blood cells associated with striking genotoxicity. Interestingly, a significant rise in lipid peroxidation and advanced oxidation protein products level in erythrocytes and bone were noted. Meanwhile, a depletion of the antioxidant status in both tissues occurred. These biochemical alterations were in harmony with DNA degradation and histological variation in bone and blood. In the other trend, data showed that treatment with alga improved MT-induced hematotoxicity, genotoxicity, and oxidative stress in the blood and bone. Osteo-mineral metabolism and bone histo-architecture were also noted. In conclusion, these findings demonstrated that the red alga Falkenbergia rufolanosa is a potent source of antioxidant and antibacterial agents, as revealed by the in vitro analysis. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Chemistry and Biomedical Potential of Marine Natural Products 2023)
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17 pages, 4634 KiB  
Article
The Potential Effect of Polysaccharides Extracted from Red Alga Gelidium spinosum against Intestinal Epithelial Cell Apoptosis
by Marwa Ajala, Mickael Droguet, Marwa Kraiem, Hajer Ben Saad, Zakaria Boujhoud, Abderraouf Hilali, Hatem Kallel, Jean Marc Pujo and Ibtissem Ben Amara
Pharmaceuticals 2023, 16(3), 444; https://doi.org/10.3390/ph16030444 - 15 Mar 2023
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1601
Abstract
Gut injury is a severe and unpredictable illness related to the increased cell death of intestinal epithelial cells (IECs). Excessive IEC apoptotic cell death during the pathophysiological state entails chronic inflammatory diseases. This investigation was undertaken to assess the cytoprotective action and underlying [...] Read more.
Gut injury is a severe and unpredictable illness related to the increased cell death of intestinal epithelial cells (IECs). Excessive IEC apoptotic cell death during the pathophysiological state entails chronic inflammatory diseases. This investigation was undertaken to assess the cytoprotective action and underlying mechanisms of polysaccharides from Tunisian red alga, Gelidium spinosum (PSGS), on H2O2-induced toxicity in IEC-6 cells. The cell viability test was initially carried out to screen out convenient concentrations of H2O2 and PSGS. Subsequently, cells were exposed to 40 µM H2O2 over 4 h in the presence or absence of PSGS. Findings revealed that H2O2 caused oxidative stress manifested by over 70% cell mortality, disturbed the antioxidant defense, and increased the apoptotic rate in IEC-6 cells (32% than normal cells). Pretreatment of PSGS restored cell viability, especially when used at 150 µg/mL and normal cell morphology in H2O2-callenged cells. PSGS also equally sustained superoxide dismutase and catalase activities and hindered the apoptosis induced by H2O2. This protection mechanism of PSGS may be associated with its structural composition. The ultraviolet visible spectrum, Fourier-transformed infrared (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) demonstrated that PSGS is mainly sulfated polysaccharides. Eventually, this research work provides a deeper insight into the protective functions and enhances the investment of natural resources in handling intestinal diseases. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Chemistry and Biomedical Potential of Marine Natural Products 2023)
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