Marine Drugs

26 pages, 877 KiB

Open AccessReview

Proof of Concept of Natural and Synthetic Antifouling Agents in Coatings

by Daniela Pereira, Joana R. Almeida, Honorina Cidade and Marta Correia-da-Silva

Mar. Drugs 2024, 22(7), 291; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/md22070291 - 24 Jun 2024

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Marine biofouling, caused by the deposition and accumulation of marine organisms on submerged surfaces, represents a huge concern for the maritime industries and also contributes to environmental pollution and health concerns. The most effective way to prevent this phenomenon is the use of biocide-based coatings which have proven to cause serious damage to marine ecosystems. Several research groups have focused on the search for new environmentally friendly antifoulants, including marine and terrestrial natural products and synthetic analogues. Some of these compounds have been incorporated into marine coatings and display interesting antifouling activities caused by the interference with the biofilm-forming species as well as by the inhibition of the settlement of macroorganisms. This review highlights the proof-of-concept studies of emerging natural or synthetic antifouling compounds in coatings, from lab-made to commercial ones, performed between 2019 and 2023 and their results in the field or in in vivo laboratorial tests. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Marine Anti-biofilm Compounds from Natural to Synthetic Compounds)

17 pages, 1173 KiB

Open AccessSystematic Review

Fucoidan as a Promising Drug for Pain Treatment: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

by Miguel Á. Huerta, Miguel Á. Tejada and Francisco R. Nieto

Mar. Drugs 2024, 22(7), 290; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/md22070290 - 24 Jun 2024

Viewed by 232

Abstract

Fucoidan is a polymer of L-fucose and L-fucose-4-sulphate naturally found in marine sources that inhibits p-selectin, preventing neutrophil recruitment to the site of injury. Fucoidan is employed in many studies as a tool to investigate the contribution of neutrophils to pain, showing analgesic effects. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to quantify the analgesic effects of pretreatment with fucoidan reported in the available preclinical studies. In addition, we summarized the articles which have studied the therapeutic effects of fucoidan in pathological pain at preclinical and clinical levels. The results of this systematic review reveal that pretreatment with fucoidan is a powerful tool which reduces neutrophil infiltration by 70–90% at early time points. This meta-analysis showed that preventative treatment with fucoidan produced a significant pain reduction. In addition, several preclinical studies have observed that fucoidan treatment reduces the pain that is associated with various pathologies. Finally, fucoidan has also been tested in several clinical trials, with some degree of analgesic efficacy, but they were mostly small pilot studies. Considering all the above information, it can be concluded that fucoidan is not only a preclinical tool for studying the role of neutrophils in pain but also a promising therapeutic strategy for pain treatment. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Marine Pharmacology)

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16 pages, 2867 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Genomic Analysis of Novel Sulfitobacter Bacterial Strains Isolated from Marine Biofilms

by Han Cui, Shen Fan, Wei Ding and Weipeng Zhang

Mar. Drugs 2024, 22(7), 289; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/md22070289 - 22 Jun 2024

Viewed by 367

Abstract

Bacteria from the genus Sulfitobacter are distributed across various marine habitats and play a significant role in sulfur cycling. However, the metabolic features of Sulfitobacter inhabiting marine biofilms are still not well understood. Here, complete genomes and paired metatranscriptomes of eight Sulfitobacter strains, isolated from biofilms on subtidal stones, have been analyzed to explore their central energy metabolism and potential of secondary metabolite biosynthesis. Based on average nucleotide identity and phylogenetic analysis, the eight strains were classified into six novel species and two novel strains. The reconstruction of the metabolic pathways indicated that all strains had a complete Entner–Doudoroff pathway, pentose phosphate pathway, and diverse pathways for amino acid metabolism, suggesting the presence of an optimized central carbon metabolism. Pangenome analysis further revealed the differences between the gene cluster distribution patterns among the eight strains, suggesting significant functional variation. Moreover, a total of 47 biosynthetic gene clusters were discovered, which were further classified into 37 gene cluster families that showed low similarity with previously documented clusters. Furthermore, metatranscriptomic analysis revealed the expressions of key functional genes involved in the biosynthesis of ribosomal peptides in in situ marine biofilms. Overall, this study sheds new light on the metabolic features, adaptive strategies, and value of genome mining in this group of biofilm-associated Sulfitobacter bacteria. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biosynthesis of Marine Microbial Natural Products)

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25 pages, 1621 KiB

Open AccessReview

Effects of Marine Natural Products on Liver Diseases

by Yandi Sun, Yansong Dong, Xiaohang Cui, Xiaohe Guo, Juan Zhang, Chong Yu, Man Zhang and Haifeng Wang

Mar. Drugs 2024, 22(7), 288; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/md22070288 - 21 Jun 2024

Viewed by 224

Abstract

The prevention and treatment of liver disease, a class of disease that seriously threatens human health, has always been a hot topic of medical research. In recent years, with the in-depth exploration of marine resources, marine natural products have shown great potential and value in the field of liver disease treatment. Compounds extracted and isolated from marine natural products have a variety of biological activities such as significant antiviral properties, showing potential in the management of alcoholic liver disease (ALD) and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), protection of the liver from fibrosis, protection from liver injury and inhibition of the growth of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This paper summarizes the progress of research on marine natural products for the treatment of liver diseases in the past decade, including the structural types of active substances from different natural products and the mechanisms underlying the modulation of different liver diseases and reviews their future prospects. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Marine Pharmacology)

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Mar. Drugs, Volume 22, Issue 7 (July 2024) – 4 articles

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