Natuarally occurring marine α, β-epoxy steroids: Origin and biological activities

Abstract

The present review describes the biological activities of more than 100 marine α, β-epoxy steroids. These steroids have been isolated from marine invertebrates including, sponges, starfish, soft corals and nudibranch (Mollusca). We used the computer program PASS and based on structure-activity relationships (SAR), which contains more than one million chemical compounds and more than 8,000 biological activities. The most frequently predicted activities are anti-neoplastic, anti-inflaminatory, anti-fungal and other activities are identified with a certainty of 76 to 94 percent. The main activities for different groups of steroids differ significantly.