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Review
. 2021 Apr 28;9(5):485.
doi: 10.3390/biomedicines9050485.

Comprehensive Overview on the Chemistry and Biological Activities of Selected Alkaloid Producing Marine-Derived Fungi as a Valuable Reservoir of Drug Entities

Fadia S Youssef  1 , Jesus Simal-Gandara  2
Affiliations
Review

Comprehensive Overview on the Chemistry and Biological Activities of Selected Alkaloid Producing Marine-Derived Fungi as a Valuable Reservoir of Drug Entities

Fadia S Youssef et al. Biomedicines. .

Abstract

Marine-associated fungal strains act as a valuable reservoir of bioactive diverse secondary metabolites including alkaloids which are highly popular by their biological activities. This review highlighted the chemistry and biology of alkaloids isolated from twenty-six fungal genera associated with marine organisms and marine sea sediments. The selected fungi are from different marine sources without focusing on mangroves. The studied fungal genera comprises Acrostalagmus, Arthrinium, Chaetomium, Cladosporium, Coniothyrium, Curvularia, Dichotomomyces, Eurotium, Eutypella, Exophiala, Fusarium, Hypocrea, Microsphaeropsis, Microsporum, Neosartorya, Nigrospora, Paecilomyces, Penicillium, Pleosporales, Pseudallescheria, Scedosporium, Scopulariopsis, Stagonosporopsis, Thielavia, Westerdykella, and Xylariaceae. Around 347 alkaloid metabolites were isolated and identified via chromatographic and spectroscopic techniques comprising 1D and 2D NMR (one and two dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance) which were further confirmed using HR-MS (high resolution mass spectrometry) and Mosher reactions for additional ascertaining of the stereochemistry. About 150 alkaloids showed considerable effect with respect to the tested activities. Most of the reported bioactive alkaloids showed considerable biological activities mainly cytotoxic followed by antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, antioxidant; however, a few showed anti-inflammatory and antifouling activities. However, the rest of the compounds showed weak or no activity toward the tested biological activities and required further investigations for additional biological activities. Thus, alkaloids isolated from marine-associated fungi can afford an endless source of new drug entities that could serve as leads for drug discovery combating many human ailments.

Keywords: alkaloids; biology; chemistry; fungi; marine.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Alkaloids isolated from Acrostalagmus species.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Alkaloids isolated from Arthrinium and Auxarthron species.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Alkaloids isolated from Chaetomium, Cladosporium, Coniothyrium, and Curvularia species.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Alkaloids isolated from Dichotomomyces species.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Alkaloids isolated from Eurotium species.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Alkaloids isolated from Eurotium species (Cont’d).
Figure 7
Figure 7
Alkaloids isolated from Eurotium species.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Alkaloids isolated from Eutypella species.
Figure 9
Figure 9
Alkaloids isolated from Exophiala, Fusarium, Hypocrea, Microsphaeropsis, Microsporum, Microsporum, Nigrospora, and Paecilomyces species.
Figure 10
Figure 10
Alkaloids isolated from Penicillium species.
Figure 11
Figure 11
Alkaloids isolated from P. aurantiogriseum, P. chrysogenum, P. citrinum and other miscellaneous Penicillium species.
Figure 12
Figure 12
Alkaloids isolated from P. citrinum, P. commune, and P. expansum.
Figure 13
Figure 13
Alkaloids isolated from P. granulatum, P. griseofulvum, P. janczewskii, P. janthinellum, and P. oxalicum.
Figure 14
Figure 14
Alkaloids isolated from P. paneum, P. purpurogenum, P. raistrickii, and P. vinaceum.
Figure 15
Figure 15
Alkaloids isolated from Pleosporales and Pseudallescheria.
Figure 16
Figure 16
Alkaloids isolated from Scedosporium, Scopulariopsis, Stagonosporopsis, and Thielavia.
Figure 17
Figure 17
Alkaloids isolated from Westerdykella and Xylariaceae.
Figure 18
Figure 18
A pie chart representing the percentages of the biological activities exerted by the different bioactive alkaloids.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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