Abstract
Cancer remains one of the most lethal diseases worldwide. There is an urgent need for new drugs with novel modes of action and thus considerable research has been conducted for new anticancer drugs from natural sources, especially plants, microbes and marine organisms. Marine populations represent reservoirs of novel bioactive metabolites with diverse groups of chemical structures. This review highlights the impact of marine organisms, with particular emphasis on marine plants, algae, bacteria, actinomycetes, fungi, sponges and soft corals. Anti-cancer effects of marine natural products in in vitro and in vivo studies were first introduced; their activity in the prevention of tumor formation and the related compound-induced apoptosis and cytotoxicities were tackled. The possible molecular mechanisms behind the biological effects are also presented. The review highlights the diversity of marine organisms, novel chemical structures, and chemical property space. Finally, therapeutic strategies and the present use of marine-derived components, its future direction and limitations are discussed.
Highlights
Cancer remains one of the most life-threatening diseases worldwide
(B) Estimated cancer death in the worldwide based on GLOBOCAN 2018. (C) Estimated number of Estimated number of new cancer cases in different world areas based on new cancer cases in different world areas based on GLOBOCAN 2018
Less than 5% of the deep sea has been sponge (Cryptotethya crypta) was the first marine organism to be investigated in detail chemically [33], explored, and less than 0.01% of the deep-sea floor has been sampled in detail [32]
Summary
Cancer remains one of the most life-threatening diseases worldwide. In 2018, approximately. Over 1,000,000 new cases and 65,000 deaths are estimated globally, with an incidence rate around two times higher among men than women. Advanced technology and extensive research on marine natural products have led to the discovery of a new generation of anticancer drugs currently used in clinical trials [6]. Given the great potential of marine natural product scaffolds, there is an increasing interest for exploiting this diversity and complexity for rational drug discovery [16]. In general, have been a prime source of compounds for the treatment of many forms of cancer, and offer a promising opportunity for evaluation of new chemical classes of anticancer agents and novel and potentially relevant mechanisms of action [19]. Estimated cancer death in the worldwide based on GLOBOCAN (B) Estimated cancer death in the worldwide based on GLOBOCAN 2018. (C) Estimated number of Estimated number of new cancer cases in different world areas based on new cancer cases in different world areas based on GLOBOCAN 2018
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