Chemical and biological aspects of sponge secondary metabolites

Abstract

Sponge secondary metabolites have been investigated to find potential lead compounds for the development of commercially interesting products. During the Camellia project entitled 'Environmentally compatible antifouling coatings for the protection of ships, water systems, fish cages and other immersed structures against aquatic growth,' several analogues of terpenes containing isocyano, thioisocyano, thiocyano and formamide functionalities were synthesized and evaluated for their antifouling activity against the settlement of the barnacle Balanus amphitrite. The best activities were obtained with N-formylated alkylamines the length of the carbon chain of which is comprised between C-11 and C-14. In the aromatic series, the isocyano derivatives showed high antifouling activities. But they were too toxic against many microorganisms to be incorporated in paint formulations. During the Symbiosponge project entitled 'Biology of sponge natural products' the methanolic extract of about 230 sponges were submitted to bioassays guided fractionation to isolate bioactive compounds. Several cytostatic sesquiterpene quinones and tryptamine-derived alkaloids were isolated from 4 sponges of the genus Hyrtios. A new 4-sphingenine analogue and a novel polyacetylenic derivative were found to be responsible for the bioactivities of the methanolic extracts of Haliclona vansoesti and Callyspongia pseudoreticulata, respectively.

Marine Drugs from Sponge-Microbe Association—A Review

“…trisindoline, has been characterized from a marine Vibrio sp., which was separated from the fresh marine okinawan sponge Hyrtios altum . Trisindoline was shown to exhibit potential antibiotic activity against Escherichia coli , Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus [ 70 – 72 ]. An antileukemic compound, asperazine was isolated from the saltwater culture of the fungus Aspergillus niger obtained from a caribbean Hyrtios sponge by Crews et al .…”

How Environmental Factors Affect the Production of Guanidine Alkaloids by the Mediterranean Sponge Crambe crambe

“…From a biotechnological point of view, such metabolites are frequently investigated, mostly for pharmaceutical applications [7,8,9]. Several biotechnological approaches have been developed for the large-scale production of these high value-added marine products which include in situ and ex situ farming, primmorph or cell culture [10,11].…”

“…Marine sponges are known to produce a large array of small molecules also called specialized metabolites that are likely to be involved in allelopathic interactions [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]. From a biotechnological point of view, such metabolites are frequently investigated, mostly for pharmaceutical applications [ 7 , 8 , 9 ]. Several biotechnological approaches have been developed for the large-scale production of these high value-added marine products which include in situ and ex situ farming, primmorph or cell culture [ 10 , 11 ].…”

Ecionines A and B, two new cytotoxic pyridoacridine alkaloids from the Australian marine sponge, Ecionemia geodides

“…1,2 As such, marine sponges have proven to be a rich source of bioactive natural products, many of which have been shown to be active towards numerous human therapeutic targets. One particular scientific area in which sponge metabolites have played a major role is cancer research.…”