Toxic Effects and Tumor Promotion Activity of Marine Phytoplankton Toxins: A Review

Abstract

Phytoplankton are photosynthetic microorganisms in aquatic environments that produce many bioactive substances. However, some of them are toxic to aquatic organisms via filter-feeding and are even poisonous to humans through the food chain. Human poisoning from these substances and their serious long-term consequences have resulted in several health threats, including cancer, skin disorders, and other diseases, which have been frequently documented. Seafood poisoning disorders triggered by phytoplankton toxins include paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP), neurotoxic shellfish poisoning (NSP), amnesic shellfish poisoning (ASP), diarrheic shellfish poisoning (DSP), ciguatera fish poisoning (CFP), and azaspiracid shellfish poisoning (AZP). Accordingly, identifying harmful shellfish poisoning and toxin-producing species and their detrimental effects is urgently required. Although the harmful effects of these toxins are well documented, their possible modes of action are insufficiently understood in terms of clinical symptoms. In this review, we summarize the current state of knowledge regarding phytoplankton toxins and their detrimental consequences, including tumor-promoting activity. The structure, source, and clinical symptoms caused by these toxins, as well as their molecular mechanisms of action on voltage-gated ion channels, are briefly discussed. Moreover, the possible stress-associated reactive oxygen species (ROS)-related modes of action are summarized. Finally, we describe the toxic effects of phytoplankton toxins and discuss future research in the field of stress-associated ROS-related toxicity. Moreover, these toxins can also be used in different pharmacological prospects and can be established as a potent pharmacophore in the near future.

Algal Phlorotannins as Novel Antibacterial Agents with Reference to the Antioxidant Modulation: Current Advances and Future Directions

“…Marine algae are a very rich source of secondary metabolites with a variety of chemical structures and, correspondingly, a wide range of biological properties [11,[43][44][45]. Marine brown seaweeds contain, among others, phloroglucinol and its polymers, such as PTs [46,47].…”

“…Synthetic antibiotics are frequently used to treat microbial diseases in humans but they often exert several side effects, such as renal dysfunction and cardiovascular diseases [1,2]. Therefore, the search for natural compounds in preventing various diseases is very promising [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12]. The treatment of infectious bacterial diseases is even more critical if the patient suffers from concomitant pathologies, such as tuberculosis, pneumonia, salmonellosis, and gonorrhea, often leading to the patient's death [13].…”

Identification and Pharmacological Activities of Secondary Metabolites of Phytochemicals

“…Despite the health benefit of phytochemicals, some plants are toxic (neurotoxic, genotoxic, gastrotoxic, nephrotoxin, renal toxic, hepatotoxic, cytotoxic) even at the lowest doses. Examples are Ricinus communis, Aesculus hippocastanum, rhubarb, lupines, sanguinolenta, psorospermin, Nicotina spp, Solanum malacoxylon, Phaseolus vulgaris, Solanum dulcamara, Datura stramonium [61,[68][69][70][71], and some are antinutrients such as glycol-alkaloids and cyanogenic glycosides, lupins, phytohaemagglutinin.…”

Antioxidant and chemotherapeutic efficacies of seaweed‐derived phlorotannins in cancer treatment: A review regarding novel anticancer drugs

“…In addition to the freshwater, the marine environment is also rich in algal biodiversity (Behera et al, 2020; Dash et al, 2020; Dash et al, 2021; Pradhan & Ki, 2022). These algae possess diverse groups of naturally active therapeutic phytochemicals with anticancer, antioxidant, anti‐inflammatory, antibiotic, antiviral, and antibacterial properties (Behera et al, 2021; Maharana et al, 2019; Malve, 2016; Pradhan, Bhuyan, Patra, Nayak, Behera, et al, 2022; Pradhan & Ki, 2022; Pradhan, Kim, Abassi, & Ki, 2022; Pradhan, Maharana, Bhakta, & Jena, 2021; Pradhan, Patra, Dash, et al, 2021; Pradhan, Patra, Dash, Satapathy, Nayak, et al, 2022). Naturally active therapeutic phytochemicals include proteins, vitamins, omega‐3 fatty acids, and other antioxidant compounds, such as carotenoids, phenolics, polyphenolics, and flavonoid compounds (Mohanty et al, 2020; Pradhan, Nayak, Bhuyan, Patra, Behera, et al, 2022; Pradhan, Nayak, Patra, Bhuyan, Behera, et al, 2022).…”