Abstract
Marine pharmacology is an exciting and growing discipline that blends blue biotechnology and natural compound pharmacology together. Several sea-derived compounds that are approved on the pharmaceutical market were discovered in sponges, marine organisms that are particularly rich in bioactive metabolites. This paper was specifically aimed at reviewing the pharmacological activities of extracts or purified compounds from marine sponges that were collected in the Mediterranean Sea, one of the most biodiverse marine habitats, filling the gap in the literature about the research of natural products from this geographical area. Findings regarding different Mediterranean sponge species were individuated, reporting consistent evidence of efficacy mainly against cancer, infections, inflammatory, and neurological disorders. The sustainable exploitation of Mediterranean sponges as pharmaceutical sources is strongly encouraged to discover new compounds.
Highlights
Sponges represent a great reservoir of chemodiversity, playing a pivotal role in marine pharmacology [1], an exciting and growing discipline that blends blue biotechnology and the natural compound pharmacology
We summarize the up-to-date progress in preclinical pharmacology of the most promising Mediterranean sponge metabolites, by focusing on the most recent developments in the blue biotechnology field
Evaluated the antimicrobial activity of 33 methanolic extracts that were derived from a large group of sponges that were collected in different locations in the Turkey sea, most of which are widely distributed in the whole Mediterranean
Summary
Sponges represent a great reservoir of chemodiversity, playing a pivotal role in marine pharmacology [1], an exciting and growing discipline that blends blue biotechnology and the natural compound pharmacology. Sponge-derived products range from nucleosides to terpenes, sterols, cyclic peptides, and alkaloids and are proved to have pharmacological properties such as antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal, antimalarial, antitumor, immunosuppressive, and cardiovascular activity [1,4,5]. Their chemical diversity is the result of different factors. Pharmaceuticals 2021, 14, 1329 particulate and dissolved material, sponges fill a niche in nutrient cycling and play an important ecological role within the surrounded ecosystem [5,6] They are amongst the most ancient animals in the oceans and can survive in a wide range of habitats. We highlight the importance of the Mediterranean Sea for the exploitation of marine sponges, novel pharmacological advances, molecules identification, type of activity, mechanisms of action (when described), and the possible therapeutic uses of these naturally occurring molecules, focusing on antiproliferative, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, neurological, and other effects
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