title: The antiviral activities and mechanisms of marine polysaccharides: an overview.
abstract: Recently, the studies on the antiviral activities of marine natural products, especially marine polysaccharides, are attracting more and more attention all over the world. Marine-derived polysaccharides and their lower molecular weight oligosaccharide derivatives have been shown to possess a variety of antiviral activities. This paper will review the recent progress in research on the antiviral activities and the mechanisms of these polysaccharides obtained from marine organisms. In particular, it will provide an update on the antiviral actions of the sulfated polysaccharides derived from marine algae including carrageenans, alginates, and fucans, relating to their structure features and the  structure-activity relationships. In addition, the recent findings on the different mechanisms of antiviral actions of marine polysaccharides and their potential for therapeutic application will also be summarized in detail.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Marine Drugs, Ministry of Education, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, China. wangweidragon@yahoo.com.cn
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Shi-Xin
authors.initials: SX
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Hua-Shi
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Guan
mesh_terms: D000464:Alginates / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology; D000818:Animals; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D059001:Aquatic Organisms / Q000737:chemistry; D001688:Biological Products / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002351:Carrageenan / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology; D006801:Humans; D011134:Polysaccharides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship
chemical_list: D000464:Alginates; D000998:Antiviral Agents; D001688:Biological Products; D011134:Polysaccharides; D002351:Carrageenan; C007789:fucoidan