Secondary Metabolites of Marine Microorganisms. III. Marine Fungi - a Source of Bioactive Products

Abstract

Marine-derived fungi are a rich source of structurally diverse bioactive secondary metabolites which might be useful for drug design. Up to date, a lot of structurally and pharmacologically novel and interesting bioactive secondary metabolites have been isolated from marine-derived fungi. Some of them have high toxicity toward cancer cells, however they are also cytotoxic to normal cells. These compounds require structural modifications to decrease the toxicity and increase the antitumor activity. A large number of substances have antibacterial, antifungal, anti-imflammatory and immunomodulatory activities.

Keywords

• marine fungi
• bioactive secondary metabolites
• chemical structure
• cytotoxic activity
• cancer cell lines