The marine environment presents a high biodiversity and a valuable source of bioactive compounds with therapeutic and biotechnological potential. Among the organisms present in marine environment, the endophytic fungi isolated from seaweed stand out. These microorganisms have aroused interest in the scientific community regarding its various activities such as antiviral, antimicrobial, antioxidant, photoprotective, cytotoxic, genotoxic, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer, besides establishing important ecological relations with its hosts. Anticancer molecules derived from marine natural sources are a promising target against different types of cancer. The disease’s high rates of morbidity and mortality affect millions of people world wild and the search for new therapeutic alternatives is needed. Thus, this review partially summarizes the methodologies for the isolation of seaweed-derived endophytic fungi, as well as describes the anticancer compounds isolated from such microorganisms, reported in the literature from 2009 to the present. In addition, it describes how some biotechnological processes can help in the discovery of bioactive compounds, especially with anticancer activity.

Brazil has a megadiversity that includes marine species that are distributed along 800 km of shoreline. This biodiversity status holds promising biotechnological potential. Marine organisms are important sources of novel chemical species, with applications in the pharmaceutical, cosmetic, chemical, and nutraceutical fields. However, ecological pressures derived from anthropogenic actions, including the bioaccumulation of potentially toxic elements and microplastics, impact promising species. This review describes the current status of the biotechnological and environmental aspects of seaweeds and corals from the Brazilian coast, including publications from the last 5 years (from January 2018 to December 2022). The search was conducted in the main public databases (PubChem, PubMed, Science Direct, and Google Scholar) and in the Espacenet database (European Patent Office—EPO) and the Brazilian National Property Institute (INPI). Bioprospecting studies were reported for seventy-one seaweed species and fifteen corals, but few targeted the isolation of compounds. The antioxidant potential was the most investigated biological activity. Despite being potential sources of macro- and microelements, there is a literature gap regarding the presence of potentially toxic elements and other emergent contaminants, such as microplastics, in seaweeds and corals from the Brazilian coast.

Leishmaniasis, malaria, and neosporosis are parasitic diseases that affect humans and animals, causing public health problems and billions in economic losses. Despite the advances in the development of new drugs, the severe side effects of available leishmaniasis treatments, the Plasmodium spp. resistance to antimalarial drugs, and the lack of a specific treatment against neosporosis lead us to the search for new anti-protozoan molecules from underexplored sources such as the Antarctic marine environment. Herein, we describe for the first time the chemical profile of Desmarestia antarctica crude extract and fractions using GC-MS and LC-MS/MS (molecular networking) approaches, and evaluate their antiparasitic activity against Leishmania amazonensis, Neospora caninum, and multi-drug-resistant Plasmodium falciparum. Furthermore, the cytotoxicity in 3T3 BALB/c fibroblasts and Vero cells was evaluated. D. antarctica fraction E ( IC₅₀ of 53.8±4.4 μg mL^− 1 and selectivity index of 3.3) exhibited anti-promastigote activity and was fourfold more selective to L. amazonensis rather than to the host cells. D. antarctica fraction D (IC₅₀ of 1.6±1.3 μg mL^− 1 and selectivity index of 27.8), D. antarctica fraction F (IC₅₀ of 3.1±2.1 μg mL^− 1 and selectivity index of 23.1), and D. antarctica fraction H (IC₅₀ of 3.1±2.0 μg mL^− 1 and selectivity index of 12.9) presented the highest antiparasitic effects against N. caninum with no cytotoxic effects. Also, D. antarctica fraction D presented a significant antiplasmodial inhibitory effect (IC₅₀ of 19.1±3.9 μg mL^− 1 and selectivity index of 6.0). GC-MS analysis indicated palmitic acid, myristic acid, fucosterol, phthalic acid, di(2-methylbutyl) ester, loliolide, and neophytadiene as the main components in the active fractions. In addition, this is the first report of a biological screening of macroalgae secondary metabolites against N. caninum parasites. Received: 06 May 2020 Received: 20 June 2020 Accepted: 13 July 2020 Publication Date: 21 August 2020 (online) © 2020. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial-License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York

This study evaluated the effect of the extract and fractions of Bauhinia holophylla on Candida albicans planktonic growth, biofilm formation, mature biofilm, and hyphae growth. Three C. albicans strains (SC5314, ATCC 18804, and ATCC 10231) were tested. The crude extract and the fractions were obtained by exhaustive percolation and liquid–liquid partition, respectively. Phytochemical analyses of B. holophylla extract and fractions were performed using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with a diode-array detector and mass spectrometry (HPLC-DAD-MS). A microdilution assay was used to evaluate the effect of the B. holophylla extract and fractions on C. albicans planktonic growth, and crystal violet staining was used to measure the total biomass of the biofilm. Hyphae growth was analyzed using light microscopy. Thirteen flavonoids were identified, with a predominance of the flavonol-3-O-glycoside type based on quercetin, myricetin, and kaempferol. Flavonoid-rich fractions of B. holophylla leaves displayed antifungal activity and inhibited both biofilm formation and hyphae growth in all the tested strains, but were not effective on C. albicans planktonic growth and mature biofilm. This study indicates that flavonoid-rich fractions from B. holophylla leaves interfere with the virulence of Candida species and support the use of Bauhinia spp. in folk medicine to treat infections.