Novel metabolites, marine organisms

During the last thirty-five years, a variety of biologically active substances bearing a novel carbon skeleton have been found in marine organisms. Of them, a number of highly brominated diphenyl ethers with antibacterial and antitumor activities were isolated from Dysidea herbaceae and Ptychodera flava laysanica. These metabolites are regarded as a self-defensive substance. In order to synthesize these metabolites, electrochemical oxidation of bromophenols has been carried out °. Some typical examples are shown here. 

Interest in the metabolites of marine organisms remains undiminished (see, e.g. Vol. 8, pp. 65,66,75,79,82,101,108). A detailed investigation of the terpenoid constituents of the Indo-Pacific sponge Pseudaxinyssa pitys) has resulted in the isolation of several novel carbonimidic dichlorides (38)—(42). It has been... 

Thyrsiferol, a novel squalene-derived metabolite of the red alga Laurencia thyrsifera, has been shown to have structure (9) by X-ray analysis. The synthetic versatility of marine organisms is further demonstrated by the isolation of three... 

In our ongoing search for bioactive metabolites from marine organisms, several novel heterocyclic alkaloids, such as pinnatoxins, norzoanthamine, pinnaic acids, zamamistatin, and symbioimine, have been isolated. This work features the structures, biological activities, and biogenesis of these bioactive heterocyclic marine alkaloids, along with up-to-date topics. 

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