ABSTRACT
In recent years, marine endophytic fungi are recognized as a valuable source for novel secondary metabolites that have the potential to lead to innovations in drug therapy. The literature clearly shows that natural products have been a rich source of compounds that have found many applications in the elds of medicine, pharmacy, and biology. The marine fungi particularly those associated with marine algae, sponge, invertebrates, and sediments appear to be a rich source for secondary metabolites (Belofsky et al. 1998). Endophyte research has yielded potential drug lead compounds with antibacterial, antiviral, antioxidant, insulin mimetic, and antineurodegenerative, and immunosuppressant properties. Several reviewers addressed the issue (e.g., Tan and Zou 2001, Strobel and Daisy 2003, Owen and Hundley 2004, Schulz and Boyle 2005, Gunatilaka 2006, Ravikumar et al. 2010), shedding light into selected aspects of the nature of endophytes. In this chapter, preference is given to recently discovered natural products, as well as to compounds that are particularly promising for future development as drugs in pharmacological studies.
