📄 Abstract
Marine sponges, members of the phylum Porifera, are becoming recognised as the most prevalent "chemical treasure houses" of the world's seas because they have evolved a vast range of secondary metabolites to live in competitive and pathogen-rich reef habitats. This study provides a comprehensive and systematic evaluation of bioactive natural products discovered within the last ten years, highlighting the chemical variety of structural classes such as alkaloids, terpenoids, and unique peptides. The discovery of sponge-derived nucleosides provided the basis for novel antiviral and anticancer therapies in the past, but more complex scaffolds with potent multi-target action are the focus of current research. The "sponge holobiont" concept, which contends that a sizable percentage of these bioactive substances are produced by related microbial symbionts, such as bacteria and fungus, is a major topic of study. We critically examine how developments in AI-driven biosynthetic gene cluster (BGC) mining and metagenomics are transforming the discovery process and perhaps resolving the "supply problem" that has previously hampered the clinical transfer of marine leads. Additionally, the study classifies the most recent developments in pharmacology, describing in detail the ways in which these metabolites have antiviral, cytotoxic, and antibacterial actions on newly developing human diseases. We tackle the present challenges in pharmacokinetic optimisation and metabolic stability by combining worldwide data from 2011 to 2025. A roadmap for the sustainable development of scaffolds generated from sponges into the upcoming generation of pharmacological candidates is presented in the article's conclusion, which also identifies important research needs.
🏷️ Keywords
📚 How to Cite:
Khambayatkar Shruti Mangesh , Shivani Bele , Shreya Kadam , RECENT ADVANCES IN THE DISCOVERY OF BIOACTIVE NATURAL PRODUCTS FROM MARINE SPONGES: A REVIEW OF CHEMICAL DIVERSITY AND PHARMACEUTICAL POTENTIAL , Volume 11 , Issue 4, April 2026, EPRA International Journal of Research & Development (IJRD) ,