Title:Recent Progress in Marine Mollusks from The South China Sea: Chemical and Ecological Studies
Volume: 18
Issue: 3
Author(s): Song-Wei Li and Yue-Wei Guo*
Affiliation:
- State Key Laboratory of Drug Research, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 555 Zu Chong Zhi Road, Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park, Shanghai 201203,China
Keywords:
Bioactivity, gastropoda, marine-derived drugs, mollusks, secondary metabolites, The South China Sea.
Abstract: Marine mollusks are a prolific source of secondary metabolites with complex/diverse
structures and various aspects of biological activities. For the above-mentioned reason, these animals
have been extensively explored and have become the hotspot of the research subject in recent years.
It is well documented that mollusks can escape from predation by utilizing bioactive metabolites as
defensive chemicals. In the last decade, the possible diet relationship between the South China Sea
mollusks and their related potential prey organisms, including sponges, corals, algae, etc. has been
systematically investigated. A series of interesting results have been obtained concerning the chemistry,
chemoecology, and pharmacological profiles of the studied marine organisms. The present review
focuses on recent developments dealing with chemistry, chemoecology, and bioactivity of the
South China Sea mollusks and their dietary organisms.