Marine natural products as sources of antiviral, antimicrobial, and antineoplastic agents

Abstract

Extracts of marine species from Baja California and the Caribbean have been examined on shipboard for a variety of bioactl-vities and their constituents studied there by gas chromatography/ mass spectrometry. A very high proportion of the extracts has been shown to be cytotoxic, a high proportion to be antibacterial or antifungal and a surprisingly large number to be antiviral. Many of these activities have been confirmed in more extensive assays against tumor cells, pathogenic microorganisms and a battery of viruses. A number of the compounds responsible for the activities have been identified, including several new compounds. Of special current interest are the didemnins, depsipeptides isolated from a didemnid tunicate, which inhibit a number of RNA and DNA viruses and exhibit potent cytotoxicity vs_. tumor cell lines. © 1981, Walter de Gruyter. All rights reserved.