| Popis: |
Marine natural products provide an abundant source of biologically active compounds with high chemical diversity and a great potential to produce valuable therapeutic entities. For these reasons, marine natural products have fascinated many researchers over the years, and the research in this field has increased tremendously in the last few years. Inspired by the vastness of our oceans and an almost incomprehensible level of biodiversity in the marine environment, researchers have enthusiastically explored the pharmacological potential of secondary metabolites from marine organisms. Among them emerge xanthones, compounds with a broad spectrum of biological and pharmacological activities that have raised a growing interest in the pharmaceutical industry. Therefore, this chapter reports the isolation of 57 xanthone derivatives from marine-derived microorganisms, namely fungi associated with algae, coral, sponges, and mangrove plants and from marine actinomycetes, with special emphasis on novel molecules. Relevant biological activities exhibited by these compounds, such as cytotoxic/antitumor, cancer chemopreventive, antioxidant, antibacterial, antifungal, and antiprotozoal, are also described. Finally, the sources and origins of the producer organisms are also briefly referred, and the methods of isolation and structure elucidation are also discussed. Keywords: marine-derived xanthones; marine-derived fungi; marine-derived actinomycetes; cytotoxic activity; cancer chemopreventive activity; antibacterial activity; antifungal activity; antiprotozoal activity; antioxidant activity |
