Marine-Derived Novel Drugs in the Treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease

A special issue of Marine Drugs (ISSN 1660-3397). This special issue belongs to the section "Marine Pharmacology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2025 | Viewed by 241

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hainan University, Haikou, China
Interests: Alzheimer’s disease; marine natural products; structural modification; target identification and validation; mechanisms of action

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,                 

For this Special Issue, we aim to present the latest research and advancements in the identification of molecular targets for marine-derived compounds, offering insights into their potential applications in combating Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and elucidating their mechanisms of action.

Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by memory impairment and cognitive decline, for which there is currently a lack of effective treatments. The rich biodiversity of marine environments leads to a vast array of natural products with significant potential in drug discovery and development. Marine organisms have long been recognized as valuable sources of bioactive compounds with diverse chemical structures and pharmacological properties. Certain marine-derived compounds, such as fucoidans, have shown promise in combating AD by inhibiting the aggregation and degradation of beta-amyloid proteins, thereby potentially slowing the disease’s progression. Similarly, compounds such as GV971 offer potential benefits in AD treatment by modulating gut microbiota balance and reducing inflammation. However, it is important to note that natural products are inherently produced by organisms for their own purposes rather than for human therapeutic applications. As such, structural modifications are often necessary in order to optimize their biological activities and pharmaceutical properties. In fact, only 6% of natural products are directly marketed as drugs, while 28% undergo structural modifications to enhance their drug-like characteristics, underscoring the significance of structural optimization in natural product development.

For this Special Issue, we invite original research articles, reviews, and perspectives encompassing various aspects of marine-derived anti-Alzheimer’s disease (AD) drugs. Topics of interest include innovative approaches and technologies for the development of marine-derived anti-AD drugs, the optimization of drug design, target identification for marine natural products, and mechanistic insights into the biological activities of novel anti-AD compounds.

We invite researchers from across different scientific disciplines to contribute their latest findings, reviews, and perspectives to this dynamic and interdisciplinary field. Through this Special Issue, we will strive to advance our understanding of the potential applications of marine natural products and their derivatives in the treatment of AD.

Dr. Zhipei Sang
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Marine Drugs is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • marine natural products
  • structural modification
  • target identification and validation
  • molecular therapy
  • bioactive compounds targeting AD-related targets
  • bioactive compounds targeting AD-related signaling pathways
  • high-throughput screening of bioactive compounds

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Published Papers

This special issue is now open for submission.
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