{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,16]],"date-time":"2026-07-16T02:52:28Z","timestamp":1784170348429,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":43,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,2,12]],"date-time":"2025-02-12T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1739318400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Deanship of Scientific Research (DSR) at King Abdulaziz University","award":["GPIP: 1370-166-2024"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["GPIP: 1370-166-2024"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Marine Drugs"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The Red Sea is the home of a rich diversity of sponge species with unique ecological adaptations that thrive in its saline, warm, and nutrient-poor waters. Red Sea sponges offer potential as sources of bioactive compounds and novel drugs. The organic extract of the Red Sea sponge Agelas sp. aff. marmarica was investigated for its antimicrobial constituents. Through bioassay-guided fractionation of the antimicrobial fraction of the extract on SiO2 and Sephadex LH-20, as well as HPLC purification, three bioactive compounds, marmaricines A-C (1\u20133), were isolated. Structural elucidation of the compounds was performed using 1D (1H and 13C) and 2D (COSY, HSQC, HMBC, and NOESY) NMR, as well as (+)-HRESIMS, leading to the identification of the compounds. The antimicrobial activities of the compounds were assessed through evaluation of their inhibition zones, MIC, MBC, and MFC, against Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Escherichia coli, and Candida albicans. Marmaricines A and B exhibited the strongest antibacterial effects against MRSA, with inhibition zones ranging from 14.00 to 15.00 mm, MIC values of 8 \u00b5g\/mL, and MBC values of 16 \u00b5g\/mL. In comparison, marmaracine C showed slightly weaker activity (inhibition zone: 12 mm, MIC: 16 \u00b5g\/mL, MBC: 32 \u00b5g\/mL). In terms of antifungal activity, marmaricines B and C demonstrated the greatest effect against C. albicans, with inhibition zones of 14\u201315 mm, MIC values of 8 \u00b5g\/mL, and MFCs of 16 \u00b5g\/mL. Interestingly, none of the compounds showed any inhibitory effect against E. coli. The results indicate that marmaricines A-C are selectively active against MRSA, and marmaricines B and C demonstrate potential against C. albicans, making them promising candidates for the development of novel antimicrobial agents targeting resistant pathogens.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/md23020080","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,2,12]],"date-time":"2025-02-12T11:08:51Z","timestamp":1739358531000},"page":"80","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":10,"title":["Marmaricines A-C: Antimicrobial Brominated Pyrrole Alkaloids from the Red Sea Marine Sponge Agelas sp. aff. marmarica"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"23","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2217-4039","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Diaa T. A.","family":"Youssef","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Natural Products, Faculty of Pharmacy, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia"},{"name":"King Fahd Medical Research Center, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Areej S.","family":"Alqarni","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Natural Products, Faculty of Pharmacy, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ameen M.","family":"Almohammadi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmacy Practice, Faculty of Pharmacy, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Turki","family":"Abujamel","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"King Fahd Medical Research Center, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia"},{"name":"Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, Faculty of Applied Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lamiaa A.","family":"Shaala","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Suez Canal University Hospitals, Suez Canal University, Ismailia 41522, Egypt"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,2,12]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"115","DOI":"10.2307\/2412052","article-title":"Diversity and Age Patterns in Hermatypic Corals","volume":"20","author":"Stehli","year":"1971","journal-title":"Syst. 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