Marine alkaloids comprise a class of compounds with several nitrogenated structures that can be explored as potential natural bioactive compounds. The scientific interest in these compounds has been increasing in the last decades, and many studies have been published elucidating their chemical structure and biological effects in vitro. Following this trend, the number of in vivo studies reporting the health-related properties of marine alkaloids has been increasing and providing more information about the effects in complex organisms. Experiments with animals, especially mice and zebrafish, are revealing the potential health benefits against cancer development, cardiovascular diseases, seizures, Alzheimer's disease, mental health disorders, inflammatory diseases, osteoporosis, cystic fibrosis, oxidative stress, human parasites, and microbial infections in vivo. Although major efforts are still necessary to increase the knowledge, especially about the translation value of the information obtained from in vivo experiments to clinical trials, marine alkaloids are promising candidates for further experiments in drug development.
Keywords: animal studies; biological activity; cancer; cardiovascular diseases; chemical synthesis; inflammation; marine alkaloids.