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Review
. 2020 Nov 16;9(11):813.
doi: 10.3390/antibiotics9110813.

Marine Bioactive Compounds against Aspergillus fumigatus: Challenges and Future Prospects

Chukwuemeka Samson Ahamefule  1   2   3 , Blessing C Ezeuduji  4 , James C Ogbonna  3 , Anene N Moneke  3 , Anthony C Ike  3 , Bin Wang  1   5 , Cheng Jin  1   2 , Wenxia Fang  1   5
Affiliations
Review

Marine Bioactive Compounds against Aspergillus fumigatus: Challenges and Future Prospects

Chukwuemeka Samson Ahamefule et al. Antibiotics (Basel). .

Abstract

With the mortality rate of invasive aspergillosis caused by Aspergillus fumigatus reaching almost 100% among some groups of patients, and with the rapidly increasing resistance of A. fumigatus to available antifungal drugs, new antifungal agents have never been more desirable than now. Numerous bioactive compounds were isolated and characterized from marine resources. However, only a few exhibited a potent activity against A. fumigatus when compared to the multitude that did against some other pathogens. Here, we review the marine bioactive compounds that display a bioactivity against A. fumigatus. The challenges hampering the discovery of antifungal agents from this rich habitat are also critically analyzed. Further, we propose strategies that could speed up an efficient discovery and broaden the dimensions of screening in order to obtain promising in vivo antifungal agents with new modes of action.

Keywords: Aspergillus fumigatus; bioactive compounds; fungi; marine resources; screening model.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Chemical structures of compounds from marine bacteria with antifungal activity against A. fumigatus. (a) Isoikarugamycin, (b) 28-N-methylikaguramycin, (c) 4,4′-oxybis [3-phenylpropionic acid] and (d) Caniferolide A–D.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Chemical structures of compounds from marine sponges with antifungal activities against A. fumigatus. (a) Aurantosides A & B, (b) Aurantosides D & E, and (c) Microsclerodermin A & B.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Bromophenol compounds from marine algae with antifungal activities against A. fumigatus. (a) 2,20,3,30-tetrabromo-4,40,5,50 tetrahydroxydiphenylmethane and (b) 3-bromo-4-(2,3-dibromo-4,5-dihydroxybenzyl)-5 methoxymethylpyrocatechol.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Chemical structure of compounds from sea cucumbers with effective antifungal activities against A. fumigatus. (a) Impatienside B, (b) Marmoratoside A (1); 17α-hydroxy impatienside (2); Impatienside A (3); & Bivittoside D (4), and (c) Holothurin B.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Flow chart of possible approaches to enhance the chances of discovering potent antifungal agents against A. fumigatus.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Suggested culture approaches to increase the discovery of antifungal bioactive compounds.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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