Molecular Architecture and Biomedical Leads of Terpenes from Red Sea Marine Invertebrates
Mohamed Elamir F. Hegazy,
Tarik A. Mohamed,
Montaser A. Alhammady,
Alaa M. Shaheen,
Eman H. Reda,
Abdelsamed I. Elshamy,
Mina Aziz,
Paul W. Paré
Affiliations
Mohamed Elamir F. Hegazy
Chemistry of Medicinal Plants Department, Center of Excellence for Advanced Sciences, National Research Centre, 33 El Bohouth st., Dokki, Giza, P.O. Box 12622, Egypt
Tarik A. Mohamed
Chemistry of Medicinal Plants Department, Center of Excellence for Advanced Sciences, National Research Centre, 33 El Bohouth st., Dokki, Giza, P.O. Box 12622, Egypt
Montaser A. Alhammady
National Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries, Red Sea Branch, Hurghada 84511, Egypt
Alaa M. Shaheen
Chemistry of Medicinal Plants Department, Center of Excellence for Advanced Sciences, National Research Centre, 33 El Bohouth st., Dokki, Giza, P.O. Box 12622, Egypt
Eman H. Reda
Chemistry of Medicinal Plants Department, Center of Excellence for Advanced Sciences, National Research Centre, 33 El Bohouth st., Dokki, Giza, P.O. Box 12622, Egypt
Abdelsamed I. Elshamy
Natural Compounds Chemistry Department, National Research Centre, 33 El Bohouth st. (former El Tahrir st.) Dokki, Giza, P.O. Box 12622, Egypt
Mina Aziz
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX 79409, USA
Paul W. Paré
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX 79409, USA
Marine invertebrates including sponges, soft coral, tunicates, mollusks and bryozoan have proved to be a prolific source of bioactive natural products. Among marine-derived metabolites, terpenoids have provided a vast array of molecular architectures. These isoprenoid-derived metabolites also exhibit highly specialized biological activities ranging from nerve regeneration to blood-sugar regulation. As a result, intense research activity has been devoted to characterizing invertebrate terpenes from both a chemical and biological standpoint. This review focuses on the chemistry and biology of terpene metabolites isolated from the Red Sea ecosystem, a unique marine biome with one of the highest levels of biodiversity and specifically rich in invertebrate species.
