Marine natural products in Brazil. Part 1. Isolation and sctruture determination

ABSTRACT

Chemistry of marine natural products started in Brazil 35 years ago. Studies focus on invertebrates (Echinoderms, Coelenterates, Porifera, Tunicates and Mollusks) and brown algae, and to a lesser extend green algae, red algae and sharks. Some sixty different organisms have yielded over 110 identified metabolites. So far, steroids, diterpenes and sesquiterpenes have received almost all the attention. Among other metabolites, higher terpenes, long-chain lipids, tyrosine-derived dibromo compounds, two purines and one pyridine alkaloid have been described. This review reports on the history of marine natural product chemistry in Brazil and on the isolation and structure determination of these metabolites. Some unpublished results are presented.