Antithrombotics from the Sea: Polysaccharides and Beyond

Mar Drugs. 2019 Mar 16;17(3):170. doi: 10.3390/md17030170.

Abstract

Marine organisms exhibit some advantages as a renewable source of potential drugs, far beyond chemotherapics. Particularly, the number of marine natural products with antithrombotic activity has increased in the last few years, and reports show a wide diversity in scaffolds, beyond the polysaccharide framework. While there are several reviews highlighting the anticoagulant and antithrombotic activities of marine-derived sulfated polysaccharides, reports including other molecules are sparse. Therefore, the present paper provides an update of the recent progress in marine-derived sulfated polysaccharides and quotes other scaffolds that are being considered for investigation due to their antithrombotic effect.

Keywords: anticoagulant; antiplatelet; antithrombotic; glycosaminoglycans; marine-derived; polysaccharide; sulfated fucans; sulfated galactans.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Anticoagulants / chemistry*
  • Anticoagulants / pharmacology*
  • Aquatic Organisms / chemistry*
  • Fibrinolytic Agents / chemistry*
  • Fibrinolytic Agents / pharmacology*
  • Polysaccharides / chemistry*
  • Polysaccharides / pharmacology*
  • Structure-Activity Relationship

Substances

  • Anticoagulants
  • Fibrinolytic Agents
  • Polysaccharides