One of the most precious natural resources on earth is the ocean. It is quite a rich habitat for marine animals, plants and microbes. This is due to its special ecological environment that includes the presence of high salt, high pressure, low temperature and low light. Bioactive metabolites from marine species, such as bacteria, invertebrates and plants, are known as marine natural products (MNPs) that play a key role in drug discovery. In particular, terpenoids, also referred to as terpenes are the largest group of marine natural products, that not only have unique chemical structures but also have special pharmacological effects in the treatment of human diseases such as cancer, inflammation and many other infectious diseases. Based on the number of building blocks, terpenes can be classified as monoterpenes (C10), sesquiterpenes (C15), diterpenes (C20), sesterterpenes (C25) and meroterpenoids. Some examples include BACE1 inhibitor asperterpene A and MptpB inhibitor asperterpenoid A. With the development of new technologies such as metabolomics, genomics and biosynthesis, there has been a tremendous increase in the rate of new terpenoids from marine resources. Meanwhile, the chemical diversity and biological activities of these novel terpenoids attracted the attention of chemists and pharmacologists in drug discovery.
Despite the diverse biological properties of terpene bioactive molecules, the development of new terpene compounds with intriguing medicinal characteristics is still in sharp decline. This is due to inefficient discovery methods and the limited material. Therefore, new methods are still required to study and evaluate in-depth the biological properties -of terpenoids. In addition, it is crucial to discover new terpenoids using the new metabolomics and/or genomics techniques. Meanwhile, the total synthesis, semi-synthesis and biosynthesis could solve the limited amount of terpenoids. Thus, further investigation of the pharmacological mechanism of terpenoids, and the models in vivo and in vitro are still needed.
In this Research Topic, we would like to cover new findings and advances on the chemical and biological properties of marine-derived terpenoids, including structural elucidation, biosynthetic studies, metabolomic studies, total synthesis and semi-synthesis, as well as pharmacological mechanisms of action. Review articles that make substantial advances within this field will also be considered. The Guest Editors invite scientists to submit their latest research findings and review articles in this area, contributing to this Research Topic of Frontiers in Marine Science with interesting papers showing significant advances in this field.
In this Research Topic we welcome contributions addressing:
1. Terpenoids produced by marine organisms: Occurrence, structural diversity, biological activities, and their molecular targets.
2. Identification and isolation of novel terpenoids from marine organisms;
3. Metabolomics or genomics analysis for the discovery of new bioactive terpenoids;
4. Total synthesis, semi-synthesis and biosynthesis of terpenoids;
5. The pharmacological mechanism investigations of Marine-derived terpenoids in vivo and in vitro
One of the most precious natural resources on earth is the ocean. It is quite a rich habitat for marine animals, plants and microbes. This is due to its special ecological environment that includes the presence of high salt, high pressure, low temperature and low light. Bioactive metabolites from marine species, such as bacteria, invertebrates and plants, are known as marine natural products (MNPs) that play a key role in drug discovery. In particular, terpenoids, also referred to as terpenes are the largest group of marine natural products, that not only have unique chemical structures but also have special pharmacological effects in the treatment of human diseases such as cancer, inflammation and many other infectious diseases. Based on the number of building blocks, terpenes can be classified as monoterpenes (C10), sesquiterpenes (C15), diterpenes (C20), sesterterpenes (C25) and meroterpenoids. Some examples include BACE1 inhibitor asperterpene A and MptpB inhibitor asperterpenoid A. With the development of new technologies such as metabolomics, genomics and biosynthesis, there has been a tremendous increase in the rate of new terpenoids from marine resources. Meanwhile, the chemical diversity and biological activities of these novel terpenoids attracted the attention of chemists and pharmacologists in drug discovery.
Despite the diverse biological properties of terpene bioactive molecules, the development of new terpene compounds with intriguing medicinal characteristics is still in sharp decline. This is due to inefficient discovery methods and the limited material. Therefore, new methods are still required to study and evaluate in-depth the biological properties -of terpenoids. In addition, it is crucial to discover new terpenoids using the new metabolomics and/or genomics techniques. Meanwhile, the total synthesis, semi-synthesis and biosynthesis could solve the limited amount of terpenoids. Thus, further investigation of the pharmacological mechanism of terpenoids, and the models in vivo and in vitro are still needed.
In this Research Topic, we would like to cover new findings and advances on the chemical and biological properties of marine-derived terpenoids, including structural elucidation, biosynthetic studies, metabolomic studies, total synthesis and semi-synthesis, as well as pharmacological mechanisms of action. Review articles that make substantial advances within this field will also be considered. The Guest Editors invite scientists to submit their latest research findings and review articles in this area, contributing to this Research Topic of Frontiers in Marine Science with interesting papers showing significant advances in this field.
In this Research Topic we welcome contributions addressing:
1. Terpenoids produced by marine organisms: Occurrence, structural diversity, biological activities, and their molecular targets.
2. Identification and isolation of novel terpenoids from marine organisms;
3. Metabolomics or genomics analysis for the discovery of new bioactive terpenoids;
4. Total synthesis, semi-synthesis and biosynthesis of terpenoids;
5. The pharmacological mechanism investigations of Marine-derived terpenoids in vivo and in vitro