Review: Sulfur-containing natural products isolated from marine organisms

Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc.May 31 2021

Announcing a new publication for Marine Life Science & Technology journal. In this review article the authors Yang Hai, Mei‑Yan Wei, Chang‑Yun Wang, Yu‑Cheng Gu and Chang‑Lun Shao from Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China and Syngenta Jealott's Hill International Research Centre, Berkshire, UK consider the chemistry and biology of sulfur‑containing natural products from marine microorganisms.

Natural products derived from marine microorganisms are a potential source of new compounds for drug discovery. The marine environment hosts many sulfur-containing natural products with numerous biological functionalities, for example, antitumor, antibiotic, anti-inflammatory and antiviral properties.

The authors of this article have provided a comprehensive overview of the sulfur-containing natural products that are non-sulfated and have been isolated from marine organisms.

The overview covers the published literature from January 1987 to December 2020. A total of 484 compounds were recorded. Of these 59.9% were thioethers, 29.8% were thiazole/thiazoline-containing compounds and 10.3% were sulfoxides, sulfones, thioesters etc. A selection of 133 compounds were further discussed in relation to their structure-activity relationships, mechanisms of action, biosynthesis, and druggability.

This article provides the most up to date review of sulfur-containing natural products from marine microorganisms from their first reporting in January 1987 to December 2020.