Soft coral Cespitularia stolonifera: New cytotoxic ceramides and gastroprotective activity

Theoretical study on the structures and pharmacokinetic evaluation of verticillane-type diterpenes from soft coral Heteroxenia ghardaqensis

The density functional theory (DFT) method ωB97XD/6-311++G(2d, p) was applied to calculate and analyze the geometric structures, spectral properties, frontier molecular orbitals, and molecular electrostatic potentials of 14 novel verticillane-type diterpenoids isolated from the soft coral Heteroxenia ghardaqensis. Additionally, reaction index analysis was conducted using conceptual density functional theory, and the drug-likeness of these compounds was evaluated using two different pharmacokinetic prediction platforms. The results showed that the hydroxyl hydrogen, secondary amine hydrogen, carbonyl oxygen, and hydroxyl oxygen in the molecules of these compounds have relatively high reactivity. Compounds 5, 8, and 9 exhibit significant anti-inflammatory activity and have similar electronic delocalization distribution characteristics, showing good stability and excellent biological activity, among which compound 5 demonstrates more significant drug potential. For compounds 2, 8, and 12 with hepatoprotective activity, through the analysis of comprehensive pharmacokinetic parameters and molecular docking data, compound 12 is considered more suitable as a potential hepatoprotective drug.

The application and sustainable development of coral in traditional medicine and its chemical composition, pharmacology, toxicology, and clinical research

This review discusses the variety, chemical composition, pharmacological effects, toxicology, and clinical research of corals used in traditional medicine in the past two decades. At present, several types of medicinal coral resources are identified, which are used in 56 formulas such as traditional Chinese medicine, Tibetan medicine, Mongolian medicine, and Uyghur medicine. A total of 34 families and 99 genera of corals are involved in medical research, with the Alcyoniidae family and Sarcophyton genus being the main research objects. Based on the structural types of compounds and the families and genera of corals, this review summarizes the compounds primarily reported during the period, including terpenoids, steroids, nitrogen-containing compounds, and other terpenoids dominated by sesquiterpene and diterpenes. The biological activities of coral include cytotoxicity (antitumor and anticancer), anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antibacterial, antiviral, immunosuppressive, antioxidant, and neurological properties, and a detailed summary of the mechanisms underlying these activities or related targets is provided. Coral toxicity mostly occurs in the marine ornamental soft coral Zoanthidae family, with palytoxin as the main toxic compound. In addition, nonpeptide neurotoxins are extracted from aquatic corals. The compatibility of coral-related preparations did not show significant acute toxicity, but if used for a long time, it will still cause toxicity to the liver, kidneys, lungs, and other internal organs in a dose-dependent manner. In clinical applications, individual application of coral is often used as a substitute for orthopedic materials to treat diseases such as bone defects and bone hyperplasia. Second, coral is primarily available in the form of compound preparations, such as Ershiwuwei Shanhu pills and Shanhu Qishiwei pills, which are widely used in the treatment of neurological diseases such as migraine, primary headache, epilepsy, cerebral infarction, hypertension, and other cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. It is undeniable that the effectiveness of coral research has exacerbated the endangered status of corals. Therefore, there should be no distinction between the advantages and disadvantages of listed endangered species, and it is imperative to completely prohibit their use and provide equal protection to help them recover to their normal numbers. This article can provide some reference for research on coral chemical composition, biological activity, chemical ecology, and the discovery of marine drug lead compounds. At the same time, it calls for people to protect endangered corals from the perspectives of prohibition, substitution, and synthesis.