Marine Natural Products in Pharmacological Applications

Marine ecosystems yield a vast array of structurally diverse natural products that underpin current pharmacological research. Organisms such as sponges, molluscs, algae and marine microorganisms produce secondary metabolites with potent bioactivities, including antimicrobial, anticancer and immunomodulatory effects. These molecules often possess unique chemical scaffolds not encountered in terrestrial sources, facilitating novel mechanism-of-action studies. In recent years, advances in high-throughput screening, metabolomics and synthetic biology have accelerated the isolation, characterisation and optimisation of marine-derived compounds. Preclinical investigations routinely evaluate efficacy across in vitro and in vivo models, identifying lead compounds that modulate targets such as kinases, ion channels and transcription factors. The marine natural product pipeline has expanded to include candidates entering early clinical trials for treatment of cancer, infectious diseases, inflammatory disorders and metabolic syndromes. Global collaborative bioprospecting efforts, combined with sustainable harvesting and aquaculture strategies, underpin the discovery of new bioactive metabolites while addressing conservation concerns. Integration of chemical synthesis and semisynthesis further enables structural modification to improve pharmacokinetics and safety, reinforcing the ocean’s role as a critical reservoir for future therapeutics.

Research from Nature Portfolio

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Marine Natural Products in Pharmacological Applications publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in marine natural products in pharmacological applications across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Preclinical: Stage of drug development involving laboratory and animal testing to assess efficacy, safety and pharmacokinetics before human trials.

Lead compound: A molecule with desirable biological activity and drug-like properties selected for further optimisation in drug discovery.

NF-κB: A transcription factor central to the regulation of immune and inflammatory responses, often targeted by anti-inflammatory agents.

Apoptosis: Programmed cell death mechanism by which cells undergo a regulated process of self-destruction, crucial for eliminating cancerous or damaged cells.

References

1. Marine Pharmacology in 2019–2021: Marine Compounds with Antibacterial, Antidiabetic, Antifungal, Anti-Inflammatory, Antiprotozoal, Antituberculosis and Antiviral Activities; Affecting the Immune and Nervous Systems, and Other Miscellaneous Mechanisms of Action †. Marine Drugs (2024).
2. From Marine Origin to Therapeutics: The Antitumor Potential of Marine Algae-Derived Compounds. Frontiers in Pharmacology (2018).
3. The Marine Natural Product Pseudopterosin Blocks Cytokine Release of Triple-Negative Breast Cancer and Monocytic Leukemia Cells by Inhibiting NF-κB Signaling. Marine Drugs (2017).