南非东南海岸最大的缺刻型海湾——Algoa Bay，是南非南部目前最为研究深入的海洋生态系统之一。 在靠近南非第六大城市的海湾西侧的底栖礁石上栖息着众多的特有海洋无脊椎动物。过去25年里，南非的海洋天然产物化学家和来自美国国家癌症研究所和其他美国机构的国际合作伙伴，将他们的关注点放在Algoa Bay的底栖海洋无脊椎动物身上，认为它们有潜力成为新一代的抗癌化合物来源。本文纪念在Algoa Bay进行的一个季度的海洋生物发现研究，并介绍了从两种软体动物、八种海鞘和六种海绵中分离出的49种新的和36种已知的特殊代谢物的结构和生物活性。其中39种化合物对体外癌细胞具有细胞毒性，其中20种表现出中等到强效的细胞毒性，另外6种具有抗菌活性。最有潜力的抗癌化合物之一是来自Algoa Bay海鞘Lissoclinum物种的曼德拉莱德A(38)。

Algoa Bay, the largest crenulate bay on the southeastern coast of South Africa, is currently one of the most well-studied marine ecosystems in southern Africa. A plethora of endemic marine invertebrates inhabits the benthic reefs on the western edge of the Bay in close proximity to South Africa's sixth largest city. Over the past 25 years, South African marine natural products chemists, together with international collaborators from the US National Cancer Institute and other US institutions, have focused their attention on Algoa Bay's benthic marine invertebrates as a potential source of new anticancer compounds. This review commemorates a quarter of a century of marine biodiscovery in Algoa Bay and presents the structures and bioactivities of 49 new and 36 known specialized metabolites isolated from two molluscs, eight ascidians, and six sponges. Thirty-nine of these compounds were cytotoxic to cancer cells in vitro with 20 exhibiting moderate to potent cytotoxicity. Six other compounds exhibited antimicrobial activity. Foremost among the potential anticancer compounds is mandelalide A (38) from the Algoa Bay ascidian Lissoclinum species.