Halichondramide from Halichondria sponges

Kernan, M.R. and Faulkner, D.J. (1987) Halichondramide, an antifungal macrolide from the sponge Halichondria sp. Tetrahedron Lett., 28, 2809-2812. 

The antifungal macrolide halichondramide (3), isolated from the Kwajalein sponge of the genus Halichondria, showed significant insecticidal activity at 3 ppm, especially against tobacco budworm. We isolated swinholides A (4) and B (5), from the Red Sea sponge The-onella swinhoei. 

The antifungal macrolide halichondramide (3), isolated by Kernan et al. from the Kwa-jalein sponge of the genus Halichondria, showed the most significant in vitro activity of the compounds tested. With 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) values approaching those for compounds used clinically, this marine natural product is a potential lead for the development of alternative chemotherapy for the treatment of malaria. 

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