The diterpenes from Dictyotacean marine brown algae in the Tropical Atlantic American region

Species of Dictyotales (brown algae) produce a large array of bioactive secondary metabolites possessing a broad defensive action against herbivores in the marine environment. This paper reviews the geographic and structural variations of the diterpenes found in Dictyotaceae species from the Tropical Atlantic American region. This analysis reveals that the geographical distribution of the Dictyotacean diterpenes parallels geographical and chemical differentiation, corroborating The Micromolecular Evolution Theory that states that invasion (= colonization) of new regions results in modification in the relative importance between the characteristic metabolic pathways of a given talon. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.