Bioactive Secondary Metabolites of Marine Fungi

Abstract

Marine fungi can be isolated from marine animals, plants, sediments, and seawater. Due to the complex marine environments, marine fungal metabolites have novel structures and diverse activities. Over 1,500 species of marine fungi, including about 530 species of obligate marine fungi, are known. Marine fungi are important sources of biologically active natural products due to their ability to produce secondary metabolites with novel structures and pharmacological activities. Over recent decades, pharmaceutical and medical applications of marine fungi have been explored, and new drugs from relatively underexplored sources are essential. Halimide (phenylahistin), a naturally occurring fungal natural product with a diketopiperazine structure isolated from Aspergillus ustus, is being studied in a Phase 3 clinical trial for the treatment of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Its synthetic analog, plinabulin (NPI 2358), is being developed by BeyondSpring Pharmaceuticals, and a New Drug Application (NDA) has been submitted in the United States and China for its use in the treatment of NSCLC and chemotherapy-induced neutropenia (CIN).

This book provides details about the isolation, structure determination, and bioactivities of marine fungal natural products. Hence, bioactive secondary metabolites from marine fungi are important for academic research, pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, and biomedical industries. I would like to acknowledge Marine Drugs for their encouragement and suggestions to get this wonderful compilation related to the special issue “Bioactive Secondary Metabolites of Marine Fungi”. I would also like to sincerely thank all the contributors for their high-quality manuscripts, support, and advice.