Abstract

Chemical study of marine organisms has revealed them as a rich source of natural products with unique structural characteristics and outstanding biological activities. Marine macrolides are a unique group of natural products that frequently include a highly oxygenated polyene backbone and a macrocyclic lactone as a conformational constraint. Many of them have shown unparalleled cell growth antiproliferative properties, making them valuable molecular probes for the discovery of new biochemical pathways or as promising lead compounds in the development route to new antitumor chemotherapeutic agents. This bibliographic review has been focussed on marine macrolides with strong cytotoxic activity and potential in cancer research and therapy, as well as those macrolides either in the market or currently in clinical trials and/or preclinical development.