Inflammation is considered as one of the most primary protective innate immunity responses, closely related to the body’s defense mechanism for responding to chemical, biological infections, or physical injuries. Furthermore, prolonged inflammation is undesirable, playing an important role in the development of various diseases, such as heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, atherosclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and even certain cancers. Marine-derived fungi represent promising sources of structurally novel bioactive natural products, and have been a focus of research for the development of anti-inflammatory drugs. This review covers secondary metabolites with anti-inflammatory activities from marine-derived fungi, over the period spanning August 2018 to July 2024. A total of 285 anti-inflammatory metabolites, including 156 novel compounds and 11 with novel skeleton structures, are described. Their structures are categorized into five categories: terpenoids, polyketides, nitrogen-containing compounds, steroids, and other classes. The biological targets, as well as the in vitro and in vivo screening models, were surveyed and statistically summarized. This paper aims to offer valuable insights to researchers in the exploration of natural products and the discovery of anti-inflammatory drugs.

The genus Daldinia have long been recognized as a source of structural novel, pharmaceutically relevant natural products. We reviewed the structures and activities of secondary metabolites isolated from the genus of Daldinia from January 1995 to June 2024, and 280 compounds, including six major categories—terpenoids, alkaloids, polyketides, polyphenols, steroids, and other classes—are presented in this review. Among these metabolites, 196 were identified as new structures. Remarkably, 112 compounds exhibited a range of biological activities, including cytotoxic, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antifungal, anti-virus, and enzyme-inhibitory activities. This review highlights the bioactive metabolites discovered in the past three decades from the genus of Daldinia while also exploring the potential of these symbiotic fungi as rich sources of novel and diverse natural products. The varying bioactivities of these metabolites offer a vast array of promising lead compounds and also could significantly contribute to the development of new medicines.

Nitrogen heterocycles have drawn considerable attention because of their structurally novel and significant biological activities. Marine-derived fungi, especially the Aspergillus species, possess unique metabolic pathways to produce secondary metabolites with novel structures and potent biological activities. This review prioritizes the structural diversity and biological activities of nitrogen heterocycles that are produced by marine-derived Aspergillus species from January 2019 to January 2024, and their relevant biological activities. A total of 306 new nitrogen heterocycles, including seven major categories—indole alkaloids, diketopiperazine alkaloids, quinazoline alkaloids, isoquinoline alkaloids pyrrolidine alkaloids, cyclopeptide alkaloids, and other heterocyclic alkaloids—are presented in this review. Among these nitrogen heterocycles, 52 compounds had novel skeleton structures. Remarkably, 103 compounds showed various biological activities, such as cytotoxic, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antifungal, anti-virus, and enzyme-inhibitory activities, and 21 compounds showed potent activities. This paper will guide further investigations into the structural diversity and biological activities of nitrogen heterocycles derived from the Aspergillus species and their potential contributions to the future development of new natural drug products in the medicinal and agricultural fields.

Three new naphthalene–chroman dimer derivatives, daldinaphchromes A–C (1–3), two new chroman derivatives, daldichromes A (5) and B (6), along with five known compounds (4, 7–10) were isolated from the mangrove-derived fungus Daldinia eschscholzii HJX1P2. Their structures and stereochemistries were elucidated through detailed NMR and MS analyses, calculated electronic circular dichroism, and comparison with previously reported data. Compound 1 demonstrated inhibitory effects on nitric oxide (NO) production in LPS-induced RAW 264.7 cells, with an IC₅₀ value of 62.9 µM, and more effectively suppressed the expression of interleukin (IL)-6 than dexamethasone. A further mechanistic study suggested that 1 could prohibit the expression of iNOS in RAW 264.7 cells, and the molecular docking study suggested a possible interaction between 1 and the iNOS protein. Compounds 7 and 8 exhibited moderate to potent DPPH radical scavenging activity, with IC₅₀ values of 117.4 and 46.2 µM, respectively, compared with the positive control ascorbic acid (IC₅₀ = 45.6 µM). Compounds 4 and 10 showed ABTS⁺ radical scavenging activity, with IC₅₀ values of 66.6 and 33.2 µM, respectively, which were equal to or lower than that of the positive control vitamin C (IC₅₀ = 59.7 µM). Compounds 1–3, 7, and 9 showed antibacterial activity against three Staphylococcus aureus strains, with MIC values of 74.4–390.6 μM.