Marine-Derived Indole Alkaloids and Their Biological and Pharmacological Activities

Abstract

Novel secondary metabolites from marine macroorganisms and marine-derived microorganisms have been intensively investigated in the last few decades. Several classes of compounds, especially indole alkaloids, have been a target for evaluating biological and pharmacological activities. As one of the most promising classes of compounds, indole alkaloids possess not only intriguing structural features but also a wide range of biological/pharmacological activities including antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, antidiabetic, and antiparasitic activities. This review reports the indole alkaloids isolated during the period of 2016–2021 and their relevant biological/pharmacological activities. The marine-derived indole alkaloids reported from 2016 to 2021 were collected from various scientific databases. A total of 186 indole alkaloids from various marine organisms including fungi, bacteria, sponges, bryozoans, mangroves, and algae, are described. Despite the described bioactivities, further evaluation including their mechanisms of action and biological targets is needed to determine which of these indole alkaloids are worth studying to obtain lead compounds for the development of new drugs.

Naturally derived indole alkaloids targeting regulated cell death (RCD) for cancer therapy: from molecular mechanisms to potential therapeutic targets

“…2 Classification of indole alkaloids and their representative compounds isolated from marine organisms such as fungi, bacteria, mollusks, sponges, and algae. By systematically analyzing the anticancer mechanism and targets of these marinederived indole alkaloids, it would be able to obtain lead compounds for the development of new drugs [26]. As an important source of lead compounds, many clinical agents have been obtained from natural indole products.…”

Antiglioma Natural Products from the Marine-Associated Fungus Penicillium sp. ZZ1750

“…Compounds 2 – 7 were six indole alkaloids, as the major metabolites of strain ZZ1750 in GA liquid medium, and showed no antiglioma activity. It is well known that marine-derived indole alkaloids possess not only intriguing structures, but also diverse biological activities [ 40 ]. Therefore, other activities of these isolated indole alkaloids, especially the new 11 S -(−)-penilloid A ( 2 ) and 11 R ,14 E -(+)-penilloid A ( 3 ), need to be further evaluated.…”

Bioactive Compounds from Terrestrial and Marine-Derived Fungi of the Genus Neosartorya †

“…Since Neosartorya is a teleomorph of the A. fumigatus group, it is a legitimate expectation that, in principle, secondary metabolites produced by members of the genus Neosartorya would resemble those produced by Aspergillus species. In fact, we have found common traits in the secondary metabolites produced by Neosartorya species and Aspergillus species, especially indoles [ 15 ], meroterpenoids [ 16 ], and polyketides [ 17 ]. Surprisingly, we have noted different types of metabolites within the same species, isolated from different environments.…”

“…Indole alkaloids consist of the indole ring system, which is derived from the amino acid Trp. In order to facilitate the readability of this section, these compounds are subdivided into simple indoles, prenylated indoles, annelated indoles, and bis-indoles, according to Wibowo et al [ 15 ].…”