Depsipeptide Companeramides from a Panamanian Marine Cyanobacterium Associated with the Coibamide Producer

Researchers have identified two novel cyclic depsipeptides, companeramides A and B, derived from a marine cyanobacterium found in Coiba National Park, Panama. These compounds exhibit high nanomolar antiplasmodial activity, making them promising candidates for malaria treatment, while showing no significant cytotoxicity to human cancer cell lines at tested doses. The study employed NMR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, Marfey's methodology, and chiral-phase HPLC analysis to determine the planar structures and absolute configurations of the companeramides. This discovery builds on previous findings related to coibamide A, another potent toxin from the same cyanobacterial source.

Vining, O. B., Medina, R. A., Mitchell, E. A., Videau, P., Li, D., Serrill, J. D., Kelly, J. X., Gerwick, W. H., Proteau, P. J., Ishmael, J. E., & McPhail, K. L. (2015). Depsipeptide Companeramides from a Panamanian Marine Cyanobacterium Associated with the Coibamide Producer. Journal of Natural Products, 78(3), 413–420. https://doi.org/10.1021/np5007907