Alkaloids from Cyanobacteria with Diverse Powerful Bioactivities

Abstract

Alkaloid containing plants represent a heterogeneous group both taxonomically and chemically, a basic nitrogen being the unifying factor for the various classes. As most alkaloids are extremely toxic, organisms containing them do not feature strongly in medicine but they have always been important in the allopathic system. Typical alkaloids are derived from plant sources, they are basic, they contain one or more nitrogen, and they usually have marked physiological actions in humans or other mammalian species. This review will present various alkaloids generated by cyanobacteria, highlighting their complex structures, powerful bioactivities, and pharmacological properties. The main groups of cyanobacterial alkaloids include the neuromuscular transmission blocker anatoxins, the ion channel blocker saxitoxins, the degenerated amino acid β-methylamino-L-alanine, the protein synthesis inhibitor guanidine alkaloid cylindrospermopsins, and cyanobacterial indol alkaloids with antiviral, antifungal, and cytotoxic activity.

Algae Biofilm Reduces Microbe-Derived Dissolved Organic Nitrogen Discharges: Performance and Mechanisms

“…The identified cyanobacterial taxa (i.e., Limnothrix and Kamptonema ) in AB were commonly found in cyanobacterial mats formed in domestic wastewater. , Due to this habitat specificity, they may have lower toxicity risk than harmful algae bloom-related taxa (e.g., Microcystis ). − This was supported by the absence of microcystin, a major nitrogenous toxin produced by cyanobacteria, in FTICR-MS analysis and its synthetase genes in recovered cyanobacterial MAGs (Supporting Data 3). However, the mDON compounds belonging to putative phytochemical compounds such as alkaloids that usually have powerful bioactivities and pharmacological properties , were identified in AB’s effluent. Future studies to evaluate the potential safety and ecological impacts of AB’s effluents are required for the comprehensive assessment of AB’s practical value in wastewater treatment.…”

“…72−74 This was supported by the absence of microcystin, a major nitrogenous toxin produced by cyanobacteria, in FTICR-MS analysis and its synthetase genes in recovered cyanobacterial MAGs (Supporting Data 3). However, the mDON compounds belonging to putative phytochemical compounds such as alkaloids that usually have powerful bioactivities and pharmacological properties 52,75 were identified in AB's effluent. Future studies to evaluate the potential safety and ecological impacts of AB's effluents are required for the comprehensive assessment of AB's practical value in wastewater treatment.…”

Alkaloids in Contemporary Drug Discovery to Meet Global Disease Needs

“…That source may be a specialized marine or terrestrial location, from a microbe, an extract or compound library based on traditional medicine reports, a specific taxonomic source, or through in silico binding studies of alkaloid libraries at the active sites of specific enzymes or receptors (vide infra). In the past twenty-five years cyanobacteria have become a significant source of new alkaloid metabolites possessing a range of biological activities [48,49].…”

Microcystin-LR and Cylindrospermopsin Induced Alterations in Chromatin Organization of Plant Cells

“…To understand the chemistry and the mechanism of action of the toxins is important because it helps in developing the adequate countermeasures, such as detection, determination and therapeutic methods. In addition many of the toxins have been found to be useful tools for probing biological or pharmacological phenomena, like use of okadaic acid in protein phosphatase studies [ 3 ].…”