Anti-Inflammatory Natural Products from Marine Organisms

Marine ecosystems harbour an extraordinary diversity of organisms—from microorganisms and fungi to macroalgae and invertebrates—each synthesising unique secondary metabolites with anti-inflammatory potential. These compounds include polyketides, terpenoids and peptides that modulate key pathways such as NF-κB, MAPK and Nrf2-mediated antioxidant responses. Mechanistic studies have demonstrated inhibition of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expression, attenuation of pro-inflammatory cytokine release and induction of cytoprotective enzymes such as heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1). Advances in genomic mining, bioassay-guided isolation and synthetic biology are accelerating the discovery and optimisation of marine natural products. With chronic inflammation implicated in disorders from arthritis to neurodegeneration, marine-derived leads offer promising templates for next-generation anti-inflammatory therapeutics, underscoring their global significance and translational potential.

Research from Nature Portfolio

No recent Nature Portfolio content available.

Anti-Inflammatory Natural Products from Marine Organisms publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in anti-inflammatory natural products from marine organisms across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

NF-κB: A transcription factor family central to the regulation of genes encoding pro-inflammatory cytokines and enzymes.

iNOS: Inducible nitric oxide synthase, an enzyme producing nitric oxide during inflammatory responses.

COX-2: Cyclooxygenase-2, an enzyme catalysing prostaglandin synthesis at sites of inflammation.

HO-1: Heme oxygenase-1, an inducible enzyme that degrades heme to generate cytoprotective and anti-oxidant products.

Nrf2: Nuclear factor-E2-related factor 2, a transcriptional regulator of antioxidant and phase II detoxification genes.

References

1. Marine Microorganism Molecules as Potential Anti-Inflammatory Therapeutics. Marine Drugs (2024).
2. A Review of Anti-Inflammatory Compounds from Marine Fungi, 2000–2018. Marine Drugs (2019).
3. A Pseudopterane Diterpene Isolated From the Octocoral Pseudopterogorgia acerosa Inhibits the Inflammatory Response Mediated by TLR-Ligands and TNF-Alpha in Macrophages. PLOS ONE (2013).