Azaphilones and Meroterpenoids from the Soft Coral-Derived Fungus Penicillium glabrum glmu003

Novel Bioactive Natural Products from Marine-Derived Penicillium Fungi: A Review (2021-2023)

Marine-derived Penicillium fungi are productive sources of structurally unique and diverse bioactive secondary metabolites, representing a hot topic in natural product research. This review describes structural diversity, bioactivities and statistical research of 452 new natural products from marine-derived Penicillium fungi covering 2021 to 2023. Sediments are the main sources of marine-derived Penicillium fungi for producing nearly 56% new natural products. Polyketides, alkaloids, and terpenoids displayed diverse biological activities and are the major contributors to antibacterial activity, cytotoxicity, anti-inflammatory and enzyme inhibitory capacities. Polyketides had higher proportions of new bioactive compounds in new compounds than other chemical classes. The characteristics of studies in recent years are presented.

Marine natural products

Covering: January to December 2021This review covers the literature published in 2021 for marine natural products (MNPs), with 736 citations (724 for the period January to December 2021) referring to compounds isolated from marine microorganisms and phytoplankton, green, brown and red algae, sponges, cnidarians, bryozoans, molluscs, tunicates, echinoderms, mangroves and other intertidal plants and microorganisms. The emphasis is on new compounds (1425 in 416 papers for 2021), together with the relevant biological activities, source organisms and country of origin. Pertinent reviews, biosynthetic studies, first syntheses, and syntheses that led to the revision of structures or stereochemistries, have been included. An analysis of the number of authors, their affiliations, domestic and international collection locations, focus of MNP studies, citation metrics and journal choices is discussed.

Marine Natural Products from the Beibu Gulf: Sources, Chemistry, and Bioactivities

Marine natural products (MNPs) play an important role in the discovery and development of new drugs. The Beibu Gulf of South China Sea harbors four representative marine ecosystems, including coral reefs, mangroves, seaweed beds, and coastal wetlands, which are rich in underexplored marine biological resources that produce a plethora of diversified MNPs. In our ongoing efforts to discover novel and biologically active MNPs from the Beibu Gulf, we provide a systematic overview of the sources, chemical structures, and bioactive properties of a total of 477 new MNPs derived from the Beibu Gulf, citing 133 references and covering the literature from the first report in November 2003 up to September 2022. These reviewed MNPs were structurally classified into polyketides (43%), terpenoids (40%), nitrogen-containing compounds (12%), and glucosides (5%), which mainly originated from microorganisms (52%) and macroorganisms (48%). Notably, they were predominantly found with cytotoxic, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory activities. This review will shed light on these untapped Beibu Gulf-derived MNPs as promising lead compounds for the development of new drugs.

Secondary Metabolites from Coral-Associated Fungi: Source, Chemistry and Bioactivities

Our study of the secondary metabolites of coral-associated fungi produced a valuable and extra-large chemical database. Many of them exhibit strong biological activity and can be used for promising drug lead compounds. Serving as an epitome of the most promising compounds, which take the ultra-new skeletons and/or remarkable bioactivities, this review presents an overview of new compounds and bioactive compounds isolated from coral-associated fungi, covering the literature from 2010 to 2021. Its scope included 423 metabolites, focusing on the bioactivity and structure diversity of these compounds. According to structure, these compounds can be roughly classified as terpenes, alkaloids, peptides, aromatics, lactones, steroids, and other compounds. Some of them described in this review possess a wide range of bioactivities, such as anticancer, antimicrobial, antifouling, and other activities. This review aims to provide some significant chemical and/or biological enlightenment for the study of marine natural products and marine drug development in the future.

Cultivable Fungal Endophytes in Roots, Rhizomes and Leaves of Posidonia oceanica (L.) Delile along the Coast of Sicily, Italy

The presence of endophytic fungi in the roots, rhizomes, and leaves of Posidonia oceanica was evaluated in different localities of the Sicilian coast. Samples of roots, rhizomes, and leaves were submitted to isolation techniques, and the obtained fungal colonies were identified by morphological and molecular (rRNA sequencing) analysis. Fungal endophytes occurred mainly in roots and occasionally in rhizomes and leaves. Lulwoana sp. was the most frequent of the isolated taxa, suggesting a strong interaction with the host. In addition, eight other fungal taxa were isolated. In particular, fungi of the genus Ochroconis and family Xylariaceae were identified as endophytes in healthy plants at all sampling stations, whereas Penicillium glabrum was isolated at only one sampling station. Thus, several organs, especially roots of Posidonia oceanica, harbor endophytic fungi, potentially involved in supporting the living host as ascertained for terrestrial plants.

Cyclic Peptides from the Soft Coral-Derived Fungus Aspergillus sclerotiorum SCSIO 41031

Three novel cyclic hexapeptides, sclerotides C-E (1-3), and a new lipodepsipeptide, scopularide I (4), together with a known cyclic hexapeptide sclerotide A (5), were isolated from fermented rice cultures of a soft coral-derived fungus: Aspergillus sclerotiorum SCSIO 41031. The structures of the new peptides were determined by 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic analysis, Marfey's method, ESIMS/MS analysis, and single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. Scopularide I (4) exhibited acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activity with an IC50 value of 15.6 μM, and weak cytotoxicity against the human nasopharyngeal carcinoma cell line HONE-EBV with IC50 value of 10.1 μM.