Marine fungi a promising source of novel bioactive natural products

Novel natural product compounds are becoming more and more necessary to treat the rising number of drug-resistant viruses, bacteria, and cancers. Due to their distinct secondary metabolic pathways along with their substantial biodiversity, marine fungi are now a major source of natural products for use in drug development research. Researchers have analysed the status of natural products from marine fungi in the past decade, revealing the hotspots and trends in this field. These novel compounds fall into six distinct structural classes, including polyketones, anthraquinones, terpenoids and alkaloids. Strong biological effects were exhibited by them, including antiviral, anticancer, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. For those looking to identify new medical drugs from marine fungi and particular targeting mechanisms, this review might offer some guidance.

Ji, R., Zha, X., & Zhou, S. (2023). Marine Fungi: A Prosperous Source of Novel Bioactive Natural Products. Current medicinal chemistry, 10.2174/0109298673266304231015070956. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2174/0109298673266304231015070956.