Marine ecosystems may offer environmental drugs for interventions in immunoinflammatory rheumatic diseases

Marine ecosystems boast a rich biodiversity and chemodiversity.In recent years, the bioprospecting and screening for bioactive compounds revealed the existence of a plethora of new potential therapeutics in the oceans.Among these are secondary metabolites with potential applications in human immunoinflammatory diseases to mitigate oxidative stress and pro-inflammatory responses.Molluscs, sponges, corals and other metazoans, but also photosynthetic microorganisms and seaweeds, produce bioactive compounds which interfere with the main pro-inflammatory pathways involved in the pathogenesis and progression of chronic inflammatory diseases and autoimmune disorders.Several marine compounds have already reached the pre-clinical and clinical stage of investigation, and some are expected to enter clinical practice soon.In this review we cover the recent advancements in marine drug discovery related to antiinflammatory and immunomodulatory compounds and discuss their potential therapeutic applications.