Aplysinopsins are tryptophan-derived marine natural products isolated from numerous genera of sponges and scleractinian corals, as well as from one sea anemone and one nudibranch. Aplysinopsins are widely distributed in the Pacific, Indonesia, Caribbean, and Mediterranean regions. Up to date, around 30 analogues occurring in Nature have been reported. Natural aplysinopsins differ in the bromination pattern of the indole ring, variation in the structure of the C ring, including the number and position of N-methylation, the presence and configuration of the C-8-C-1' double bond, and the oxidation state of the 2-aminoimidazoline fragment. Aplysinopsins can also occur in the form of dimers. This review summarizes 30 years' research on aplysinopsins. The origin, isolation sources, chemistry, bioactivity, and ecological functions of aplysinopsins are comprehensively reviewed.
Keywords: aplysinopsins; bioactivity; ecological functions; natural source; stereochemistry.