Abstract
Alcyonium corals are benthic animals, which live in different climatic areas, including temperate, Antarctic and sub-Antarctic waters. They were found to produce different chemical substances with molecular diversity and unique architectures. These metabolites embrace several terpenoidal classes with different functionalities. This wide array of structures supports the productivity of genus Alcyonium. Yet, majority of the reported compounds are still biologically unscreened and require substantial efforts to explore their importance. This review is an entryway to push forward the bio-investigation of this genus. It covers the era from the beginning of reporting metabolites from Alcyonium up to March 2019. Ninety-two metabolites are presented; forty-two sesquiterpenes, twenty-five diterpenes and twenty-five steroids have been reported from sixteen species.
Highlights
The marine environment is represented by two-thirds of the earth and epitomizes harsh parameters
The diversity of the terpenoidal content of genus Alcyonium is a source of 92 metabolites which categorized under 21 classes
Alcyonium be considered as amainly potential source of the bioactive terpenoidal metabolites
Summary
The marine environment is represented by two-thirds of the earth and epitomizes harsh parameters. The terrestrial sources are providing unique bioactive metabolites, the marine organisms produce a considerable number of unprecedented bioactive substances, which have a great possibility to be a lead drug [6]. Alcyonacea (Phylum, Cnidaria; class, Anthozoa; subclass, Octocorallia; order, Alcyonacea) constitutes an important group of marine invertebrates, widely distributed in the coral reefs They are quite numerous throughout the tropical waters, mainly live in the intertidal zones on inner reefs below the stony corals [14]. Soft corals have proven to be a biochemical warehouse for production of bioactive terpenoidal metabolites those belonging to the family, Alcyoniidae (37 genera) [3,20] These types of metabolites show roles in protection and taxonomical identification (i.e., markers) [21]. Extensive literature surveys were performed employing different scientific databases (e.g., SciFinder, Scopus, PubMed, Scholar, ScienceDirect and Web of Science), indicated the scarce or almost absence of review interested in this theme
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
