A new bispyrroloiminoquinone alkaloid, tsitsikammamine C (1), displayed potent in vitro antimalarial activity with IC(50) values of 13 and 18 nM against chloroquine-sensitive (3D7) and chloroquine-resistant (Dd2) Plasmodium falciparum, respectively. Tsitsikammamine C (1) displayed selectivity indices of >200 against HEK293 cells and inhibited both ring and trophozoite stages of the malaria para...

We have shown previously that an antitussive plant alkaloid, noscapine, binds tubulin, displays anticancer activity, and has a safe pharmacological profile in humans. Structure-function analyses pointed to a proton at position-9 of the isoquinoline ring that can be modified without compromising tubulin binding activity. Thus, many noscapine analogs with different functional moieties at position...

Marine symbiotic actinomycetes play a key role in drug development and their ecological niches can influence variety of natural product biosynthesis, providing potential defensive benefits. In this study, we report the whole-genome sequence analysis marine gastropod mollusk Planaxis sp.-associated Streptomyces griseus SCSIO PteL053, which harbors 28 putative biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs). A...

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a major lethal genetic disease caused by mutations in the CF transmembrane conductance regulator gene (CFTR). This encodes a chloride ion channel on the apical surface of epithelial cells. The most common mutation in CFTR (F508del-CFTR) generates a protein that is misfolded and retained in the endoplasmic reticulum. Identifying small molecules that correct this CFTR traf...

opium poppy (papaver somniferum l.) has two major products: alkaloids in the capsules and the seeds. it is known that opium poppy today contains alkaloid in great quantities. opiate alkaloids and their synthetic derivatives are widely used in medicines which are produced in hundreds of tons for the medicine industry. the study aimed to screen the capsules of six turkish opium poppy lines to eva...

Discovery of novel natural products is an accepted method for the elucidation of pharmacologically active molecules and drug leads. Best known sources for such discovery have been terrestrial plants and microbes, accounting for about 85% of the approved natural products in pharmaceutical use (1), and about 60% of approved pharmaceuticals and new drug applications annually (2). Discovery in the ...

Due to the increasing emergence of drug-resistant bacteria and tumor cell lines, novel antibiotics with antibacterial and cytotoxic activities are urgently needed. Marine actinobacteria are rich sources of novel antibiotics, and here we report the discovery of a novel alkaloid, xinghaiamine A, from a marine-derived actinomycete Streptomyces xinghaiensis NRRL B24674(T). Xinghaiamine A was purifi...

In 1997, Kobayashi and co-workers disclosed the isolation of ( )-nakadomarin A (1, Scheme 1) from an Okinawan marine sponge Amphimedon sp. Its unique 8/5/5/5/15/6 hexacyclic full-ring structure containing four stereogenic centers and an imbedded furan was shown with extensive NMR spectroscopic analyses including NOE and proton coupling data. The biological properties of 1 range from prominent c...

The marine plathyhelminth Macrostomum lignano was recently isolated from Adriatic shore sediments where it experiences a wide variety of environmental challenges, ranging from hypoxia and reoxygenation, feeding on toxic algae, to exposure to anthropogenic contaminants. As multidrug resistance transporters constitute the first line of defense against toxins and toxicants we have studied the pres...

Bacterial biofilms are defined as a community of surface-attached bacteria that are protected by an extracellular matrix of biomolecules. We have recently reported the synthesis of a small molecule, denoted TAGE, based on the natural product bromoageliferin and demonstrated that TAGE has anti-biofilm activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Herein we demonstrate that TAGE: (1) does not have sel...