Recent Advances in Drug Discovery from South African Marine Invertebrates

Michael T Davies-Coleman; Clinton G L Veale

doi:10.3390/md13106366

Recent Advances in Drug Discovery from South African Marine Invertebrates

Mar Drugs. 2015 Oct 14;13(10):6366-83. doi: 10.3390/md13106366.

Authors

Michael T Davies-Coleman¹, Clinton G L Veale²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemistry, University of the Western Cape, Robert Sobukwe Road, Bellville 7535, South Africa. mdavies-coleman@uwc.ac.za.
² Faculty of Pharmacy, Rhodes University, Grahamstown 6140, South Africa. C.Veale@ru.ac.za.

Abstract

Recent developments in marine drug discovery from three South African marine invertebrates, the tube worm Cephalodiscus gilchristi, the ascidian Lissoclinum sp. and the sponge Topsentia pachastrelloides, are presented. Recent reports of the bioactivity and synthesis of the anti-cancer secondary metabolites cephalostatin and mandelalides (from C. gilchristi and Lissoclinum sp., respectively) and various analogues are presented. The threat of drug-resistant pathogens, e.g., methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), is assuming greater global significance, and medicinal chemistry strategies to exploit the potent MRSA PK inhibition, first revealed by two marine secondary metabolites, cis-3,4-dihydrohamacanthin B and bromodeoxytopsentin from T. pachastrelloides, are compared.

Keywords: MRSA PK; bisindole alkaloids; cephalostatin; mandelalide; methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Review

MeSH terms

Animals
Aquatic Organisms
Drug Discovery / methods*
Humans
Polychaeta / metabolism*
Porifera / metabolism*
Secondary Metabolism
South Africa
Urochordata / metabolism*