Marine Drugs (Mar 2019)

Antithrombotics from the Sea: Polysaccharides and Beyond

  • Francisca Carvalhal,
  • Ricardo R. Cristelo,
  • Diana I. S. P. Resende,
  • Madalena M. M. Pinto,
  • Emília Sousa,
  • Marta Correia-da-Silva

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/md17030170
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 17, no. 3
p. 170

Abstract

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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.

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