The Role of Spongia sp. in the Discovery of Marine Lead Compounds

Abstract

A comprehensive review on the chemistry of Spongia sp. is here presented, together with the biological activity of the isolated compounds. The compounds are grouped in sesquiterpene quinones, diterpenes, C21 and other linear furanoterpenes, sesterterpenes, sterols (including secosterols), macrolides and miscellaneous compounds. Among other reports we include studies on the intraspecific diversity of a Mediterranean species, compounds isolated from associated sponge and nudibranch and compounds isolated from S. zimocca and the red seaweed Laurentia microcladia. Under biological activity a table of the reported biological activities of the various compounds and the biological screening of extracts are described. The present review covers the literature from 1971 to 2015.

Exploring the Antiangiogenic Potential of Solomonamide A Bioactive Precursors: In Vitro and In Vivo Evidences of the Inhibitory Activity of Solo F-OH During Angiogenesis

“…Marine sponges produce a wide variety of singular metabolites that allow them to adapt and survive in their natural environment. Pharmacological interest in such metabolites mainly consists in the potential biomedical applications exhibited by many of them [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,33,34]. In this regard, several of these sponge-derived compounds or their synthetic analogues have been described as angiogenesis inhibitors [3,7,35,36].…”

“…In living sponges, these compounds are mainly secondary metabolites, whose natural functions include defense against predators and competition with other sessile species. The increasing interest for sponge-isolated compounds in biomedical and pharmaceutical research derives from the potential clinical applications exhibited by them, according to their antitumoral, anti-inflammatory, antiangiogenic, and/or antimicrobial properties reported [1,2,3,4,5,6,7].…”

Marine natural products

“…8 The diterpenoid chemistry of gorgonians and the diverse chemistry derived from Spongia species have been reviewed. 9,10 A review of the role of natural product biosynthetic gene-clusters in bacterial ecology and evolution provides an interesting perspective on the drivers of chemical diversity within microorganisms. 11 The challenges of dereplication in MNP studies and LCMS and NMR strategies to efficiently recognise known bioactive MNPs has been reviewed.…”

Cytotoxic Furanoditerpenes from the Sponge Spongia tubulifera Collected in the Mexican Caribbean

“…Specimens belonging to the genus Spongia have been subjected to numerous chemical investigations yielding a wide variety of C21 and other linear furanoterpenes, spongian diterpenes, scalarane sesterterpenoids, sesquiterpene quinones, sterols (including secosterols), and macrolides [1], many of which have shown biological activities including antibacterial [2,3], antiviral [4], antitumoral [5,6], and anti-inflammatory functions [7].…”