Promising Antiparasitic Natural and Synthetic Products from Marine Invertebrates and Microorganisms

Abstract

Parasitic diseases still threaten human health. At present, a number of parasites have developed drug resistance, and it is urgent to find new and effective antiparasitic drugs. As a rich source of biological compounds, marine natural products have been increasingly screened as candidates for developing new antiparasitic drugs. The literature related to the study of the antigenic animal activity of marine natural compounds from invertebrates and microorganisms was selected to summarize the research progress of marine compounds and the structure–activity relationship of these compounds in the past five years and to explore the possible sources of potential antiparasitic drugs for parasite treatment.

Ericaria amentacea Algae Extracts: A Sustainable Approach for the Green Synthesis of Silver Oxide Nanoparticles and Their Effectiveness against Leishmaniasis

“…Nanomedicine paves the way to increased drug bioavailability, reduced costs, and the mitigation of the toxicity and undesirable side effects associated with prescribed medications. Recent advancements have identified such potential in numerous secondary metabolites from seaweed [50,51].…”

Therapeutic Potential of Marine-Derived Cyclic Peptides as Antiparasitic Agents

“…Long-term evolution of marine organisms exposed to extreme conditions, such as pressure, temperature, light, and salinity, promote competitive advantages to their producers in their natural environments. Thus, many of the marine products have notable biological activities, including antiparasitic activity [79,80], making them good candidates for drug development [81]. Notable efforts have been carried out to discover new therapeutic entities based on marine natural products or their derivatives and, from 2015 to 2018, 17 clinically available drugs were reported, with 28 drugs in Phase I-III clinical trials [82].…”

Embracing the era of antimicrobial peptides with marine organisms

“…Marine bioactive compounds, like alkaloids, peptides, terpenes, polysaccharides, quinones, etc. have been proven active in diseases like cancer, 1,2 malaria, 3 infection, 4,5 etc. Among them, antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are promising alternatives to solve the antibiotic crisis.…”