Origins and Bioactivities of Natural Compounds Derived from Marine Ascidians and Their Symbionts.

ABSTRACT: Marine ascidians are becoming important drug sources that provide abundant secondary metabolites with novel structures and high bioactivities. As one of the most chemically prolific marine animals, more than 1200 inspirational natural products, such as alkaloids, peptides, and polyketides, with intricate and novel chemical structures have been identified from ascidians. Some of them have been successfully developed as lead compounds or highly efficient drugs. Although numerous compounds that exist in ascidians have been structurally and functionally identified, their origins are not clear. Interestingly, growing evidence has shown that these natural products not only come from ascidians, but they also originate from symbiotic microbes. This review classifies the identified natural products

SUBMITTER: Dou X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6950356 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature