Sponge Derived Marine Natural Products as Pharmaceutical Leads

The field of marine natural products continues to produce novel bioactive agents. This work describes the investigation of three different marine sponge species that have yielded interesting new chemistry. Also covered are the isolation and structural characterization techniques used in this study.Two sponge samples from Papua New Guinea, a Suberea sp. and Cosinoderma sp. have yielded the new terpenoid compounds subersin, subersic acid, and a sulfonated terpene, halisulfate 8. These compounds were tested for the efficacy in anti-ischemic assays and an assay for inhibitors of 15-Human Lipoxygenase. Inhibitors of these processes might be useful as pharmaceuticals, or as molecular tools to add to the understanding of cellular processes. Another sponge sample, Cacospongia mycofijiensis , collected off Vanuatu led to the isolation of the microtubule inhibitors fijianolide A and B and a new microtubule inhibitor fijianolide C. The mechanism of action of these compounds has been determined by collaborators to be similar to the commercial anticancer drug paclitaxel