Alcyonium Octocorals: Potential Source of Diverse Bioactive Terpenoids

Abstract

Alcyonium corals are benthic animals, which live in different climatic areas, including temperate, Antarctic and sub-Antarctic waters. They were found to produce different chemical substances with molecular diversity and unique architectures. These metabolites embrace several terpenoidal classes with different functionalities. This wide array of structures supports the productivity of genus Alcyonium. Yet, majority of the reported compounds are still biologically unscreened and require substantial efforts to explore their importance. This review is an entryway to push forward the bio-investigation of this genus. It covers the era from the beginning of reporting metabolites from Alcyonium up to March 2019. Ninety-two metabolites are presented; forty-two sesquiterpenes, twenty-five diterpenes and twenty-five steroids have been reported from sixteen species.

The Bioactive Potential of Trawl Discard: Case Study from a Crinoid Bed Off Blanes (North-Western Mediterranean)

“…The bogue and the genus Pennatula have molecules with antioxidant properties, such as a briarane-type diterpenoid isolated from the methanolic extract of P. aculeata , with cyclooxygenase (COX) inhibitory activity [ 50 , 51 ], while A. palmatum hydrolizates have furanoesquiterpenes with antifeedant properties [ 3 ]. In addition, other species of the genus Alcyonium are known to produce molecules, such as sinularin or various terpenoids, with various bioactive qualities (antifungal, antimicrobial, antimicrobial, cytotoxic, anti-inflammatory, and antifoulant) [ 3 ]. Thus, an in-depth study of the species A. palmatum could provide insight into new bioactive molecules present in Mediterranean waters.…”

“…In recent years, the study of molecules with bioactive potential produced by marine species has increased because of their possible uses in fields such as biomedicine, food technology, and pharmacology [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]. In the Mediterranean Sea, a high percentage of marine animals produce bioactive compounds.…”

Chemical Diversity of Soft Coral Steroids and Their Pharmacological Activities

“…A steroid isolated from the Formosan soft coral Alcyonium sp. (Alcyoniidae) 3α,7α, 12α-triacetoxy-5β-cholanic acid (103) [115] and steroids (104-107) were obtained from the crude extract of A. gracillimum which exhibited moderate cytotoxicity (IC 50 22 µg/mL) and antiviral activity (IC 50 8 µg/mL) against P388 and HSV-I (human α-herpesvirus), respectively [116,117]. Steroid derivatives 3-methoxy-19-norpregna-1,3,5 (10),20-tetraene (108), 3-(4-O-acetyl6-deoxy-β-galactopyranosyloxy)-19-norpregna-1,3,5 (10),20-tetraene (109) were isolated from A. gracillimum, which was collected from the Gulf of Sagami, Japan [118] and cytotoxic 24-methylcholest-4(5),24(28)-dien-3β,6β-diol (110) has been isolated from A. patagonicum, which was collected from the South China Sea [119].…”

Diels–Alder Reactions During the Biosynthesis of Sorbicillinoids

“…Sorbicillinoids are an important family of hexaketides produced by terrestrial [1,2] and marine [3][4][5] fungi. [6] Sorbicillin (1a)was first isolated from Penicillium notatum by Cram and Tishler in 1948.…”