Aplysillin A, a thrombin receptor antagonist from the marine sponge Aplysina fistularis fulva

A Review on Molecular Mechanisms and Patents of Marine-derived Anti-thrombotic Agents

Thrombosis is a condition of major concern worldwide as it is associated with life-threatening diseases related to the cardiovascular system. The condition affects 1 in 1000 adults annually, whereas 1 in 4 dies due to thrombosis, and this increases as the age group increases. The major outcomes are considered to be a recurrence, bleeding due to commercially available anti-coagulants, and deaths. The side effects associated with available anti-thrombotic drugs are a point of concern. Therefore, it is necessary to discover and develop an improvised benefit-risk profile drug, therefore, in search of alternative therapy for the treatment of thrombosis, marine sources have been used as promising treatment agents. They have shown the presence of sulfated fucans/galactans, fibrinolytic proteases, diterpenes, glycosaminoglycan, glycoside, peptides, amino acids, sterols, polysaccharides, polyphenols, vitamins, and minerals. Out of these marine sources, many chemicals were found to have anti-thrombotic activities. This review focuses on the recent discovery of anti-thrombotic agents obtained from marine algae, sponges, mussels, and sea cucumber, along with their mechanism of action and patents on its extraction process, preparation methods, and their applications. Further, the article concludes with the author's insight related to marine drugs, which have a promising future.

Antithrombotics from the Sea: Polysaccharides and Beyond

Marine organisms exhibit some advantages as a renewable source of potential drugs, far beyond chemotherapics. Particularly, the number of marine natural products with antithrombotic activity has increased in the last few years, and reports show a wide diversity in scaffolds, beyond the polysaccharide framework. While there are several reviews highlighting the anticoagulant and antithrombotic activities of marine-derived sulfated polysaccharides, reports including other molecules are sparse. Therefore, the present paper provides an update of the recent progress in marine-derived sulfated polysaccharides and quotes other scaffolds that are being considered for investigation due to their antithrombotic effect.

Deep-sea natural products

This review covers the 390 novel marine natural products described to date from deep-water (>50 m) marine fauna, with details on the source organism, its depth and country of origin, along with any reported biological activity of the metabolites. Relevant synthetic studies on the deep-sea natural products have also been included.

Bromoalterochromides A and A′, Unprecedented Chromopeptides from a Marine Pseudoalteromonas maricaloris Strain KMM 636T†

The marine strain Pseudoalteromonas maricaloris KMM 636T was found to produce an inseparable mixture of two brominated yellow main pigments, bromoalterochromide A and A', in a ratio of 3: 1. Both pigments are Thr-Val-Asn-Asn-X pentapeptide lactones, where the amino group of Thr is acylated with 9-(3-bromo-4-hydroxyphenyl)-nona-2,4,6,8-tetraenoic acid, and X is aIle and Leu, respectively. They possess cytotoxic effects on developing eggs of the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus intermedius, but no antibiotic activity.

Genotoxic evaluation of extracts from Aplysina fulva, a Brazilian marine sponge

A range of biologically active secondary metabolites with pharmacological application has been reported to occur in marine sponges. The present study was undertaken to provide a set of data on the safety of a hydro-alcoholic extract (ALE) and an aqueous fraction (AQE) from Aplysina fulva Pallas, 1766 (Aplysinidae, Verongida, Porifera). Salmonella typhimurium strains TA97, TA98, TA100 and TA102, Escherichia coli strains PQ65, OG40, OG100, PQ35 and PQ37 and Balb/c 3T3 mouse fibroblasts were used to detect induction of DNA lesions by ALE and AQE. Assays used for these analyses were a bacterial (reverse) mutation assay (Ames test), the SOS-chromotest and the comet assay. Both extracts presented identical infrared 2-oxazolidone spectra. ALE treatment induced a higher frequency of type-4 comets, indicative of increasing DNA migration, in the alkaline comet assay. ALE also induced a weak genotoxic effect, as expressed by the induction factor (IF) values in the test with E. coli strain PQ35 (IF=1.5) and by cytotoxic effects in strains PQ35, PQ65 and PQ37. Positive SOS induction (IF=1.7) was detected in strain PQ37 treated with diluted AQE. No genotoxic effects were observed in strains PQ35, PQ65, OG40 and OG 100 after treatment with AQE dilutions. Using the bacterial (reverse) mutation test and survival assays with or without S9 mix, after 60min of pre-incubation, we observed for strain TA97 treated with ALE a weak mutagenic response (MI=2.2), while cytotoxic effects were seen for strains TA98, TA100 and TA102. AQE did not show mutagenic activity in any of the strains tested, but a weak cytotoxic effect was noted in strain TA102. Our data suggest that both ALE and AQE from A. fulva induce DNA breaks leading to cytotoxicity and mutagenicity under the conditions used.

Synthesis of R-(-)-imperanene from the natural lignan hydroxymatairesinol

A convenient and high yielding method for the synthesis of R-(-)-imperanene, starting from the readily available natural lignan hydroxymatairesinol from Norway spruce, was developed. Hydroxymatairesinol was degraded in strongly basic aqueous conditions to (E)-4-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-2-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenylmethyl)but-3-enoic acid, which was esterified and then reduced by LiAlH(4) to afford R-(-)-imperanene. The configuration at the crucial stereocenter was preserved in the synthesis, and the obtained product was identified by optical rotation measurements and chiral HPLC analyses as the R-(-)-enantiomer (ee 86-92%).

Enantioselective synthesis of imperanene, a platelet aggregation inhibitor

Both enantiomers of imperanene, a platelet aggregation inhibitor, have been synthesized in 82-90% ee. The key step of establishing the chiral center was achieved through stereoselective alkylation with benzyl chloromethyl ether using Enders' RAMP/SAMP chiral auxiliary method. The natural product was determined to be the (S)-enantiomer through comparison of optical rotation data. Reaction: see text.

Iantherans A and B, unique dimeric polybrominated benzofurans as Na,K-ATPase inhibitors from a marine sponge, Ianthella sp

Two novel tetrabrominated benzofuran derivatives, named iantherans A and B, were isolated from an Australian marine sponge of the genus lanthella. The unique structures comprised of 2,3-bis(sulfooxy)-1,3-butadiene and two brominated benzofuran moieties were determined by spectroscopic and chemical methods. Iantheran A has a (Z,Z)-1,3-butadiene moiety, whereas iantheran B is the geometric isomer possessing a (Z,E)-1,3-butadiene moiety. The inhibitory activities of the iantherans and their derivatives against Na,K-ATPase as well as the efficacy of iantheran A against other several enzymes were evaluated.

The natural production of organobromine compounds

Organobromine chemicals are produced naturally by an array of biological and other chemical processes in our environment. Some of these compounds are identical to man-made organobromine compounds, such as methyl bromide, bromoform, and bromophenols, but many others are entirely new moleclar entities, often possessing extraordinary and important biological properties. Although only a few natural organobromine compounds had been discovered up to 1968, this number as of early 1999 is more than 1,600, and new examples are being discovered continually. Organobromine compounds are produced naturally by marine creatures (sponges, corals, sea slugs, tunicates, sea fans) and seaweed, plants, fungi, lichen, algae, bacteria, microbes, and some mammals. Many of these organobromine compounds are used in chemical defense, to facilitate food gathering, or as hormones.

The calyxolanes: new 1,3-diphenylbutanoid metabolites isolated from the Caribbean marine sponge Calyx podatypa

Calyxolanes A (1) and B (2) are rare 1,3-diphenylbutanoid compounds isolated from the marine sponge Calyx podatypa collected in Puerto Rico. Their structures, including relative stereochemistry, have been determined by spectroscopic methods. The unique 2,4-diphenyloxolane function in 1 and 2 was established by 2D 1H-1H and 1H-13C NMR correlation experiments and confirmed by mass spectral analysis. A suggestion is made as to their biogenetic origin.