Current Research Landscape of Marine-Derived Anti-Atherosclerotic Substances

Abstract

Atherosclerosis is a chronic disease characterized by lipid accumulation and chronic inflammation of the arterial wall, which is the pathological basis for coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease and thromboembolic disease. Currently, there is a lack of low-cost therapeutic agents that effectively slow the progression of atherosclerosis. Therefore, the development of new drugs is urgently needed. The research and development of marine-derived drugs have gained increasing interest from researchers across the world. Many marine organisms provide a rich material basis for the development of atherosclerotic drugs. This review focuses on the latest technological advances in the structures and mechanisms of action of marine-derived anti-atherosclerotic substances and the challenges of the application of these substances including marine polysaccharides, proteins and peptides, polyunsaturated fatty acids and small molecule compounds. Here, we describe the theoretical basis of marine biological resources in the treatment of atherosclerosis.

Pharmacokinetics of Marine-Derived Drugs

“…About 1200–1500 new compounds are annually reported in the literature [ 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 ]. In the last decades, unique compounds that show a broad spectrum of biological activities have been isolated from marine organisms: antiallergic, anti-atherosclerotic, antibacterial, anticancer, anticoagulant, antidiabetic, antifungal, antihyperlipidemic, antihypertensive, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antiviral, cardioprotective, immunoadjuvant, hypocholesterolemic, and so on [ 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 ]. However, a relatively low number of active molecules have been subject to extensive pre-clinical studies, and pharmacokinetic data have been provided for the limited number of candidates.…”

Marine Natural Products and Coronary Artery Disease

“…Sea cucumber saponins (SCSs) can be defined as secondary metabolites coming from sea cucumbers, and SCSs are a group of glycosides, the aglycones of which are triterpene or spirostane compounds ( 12 ). Studies have demonstrated that SCSs could be competent for antiatherosclerosis activity.…”

“…On the other hand, SCSs obtained anti-inflammatory activity by suppressing tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and lowering the expression of TNF-α in the aorta of ApoE −/− mice. In addition, SCSs restrained IL-1β, IL-6, and MCP-1, which could be defined as inflammatory factors ( 12 ). Finally, SCSs in the diet might inhibit proinflammatory cytokine expression in vascular and peritoneal macrophages ( 13 ).…”

“…Xyloketal B is a new-style compound that has an extraordinary chemical structure and is extracted from Xylaria sp. ( 12 ). Previous studies have shown that xyloketal B protects against oxidative injury in endotheliocytes induced by oxLDL by suppressing NADPH oxidase-derived ROS generation, facilitating the production of NO, and recovering the expression of Bcl-2 ( 25 ).…”

“…SR-B1 is one type of HDL receptor significant for AS. HDL could combine SR-B1 with the purpose of regulating the transport of cholesterol so that AS might be regulated ( 12 ). Compounds purified from tetracyclic merosesquiterpene, which was extracted from the sponge Hyrtios digitatus in Australia, promoted SR-B1 activity in HepG2 cells in a dose-dependent manner, which upregulated the activity of SR-B1 in HepG2 cells ( 36 ).…”