Bioactivity Patterns of Crude Extracts from Benthic Marine Organisms in the Yucatán Peninsula

This study examined the bioactivity profiles and secondary metabolite diversity of 64 crude extracts derived from benthic marine organisms, including 51 extracts from 34 sponge species and 13 extracts from 10 ascidian species, collected across six locations in two regions: the Gulf of Mexico (Alacranes Reef and Progreso) and the Mexican Caribbean (Cozumel, Bermejo, Mahahual, and Rio Indio) on the Yucatán Peninsula. The evaluation focused on five biological activities: cytotoxic, antialgal, antiviral, antifungal, and antibacterial. Results showed that 64.1% of the extracts displayed at least one activity, with 43.7% being cytotoxic, 35.9% antialgal, 25% antiviral, 15.6% antibacterial, and 14.1% antifungal. Using the Spearman correlation method, antifungal and antibacterial activities showed significant correlations in two sponge families, Agelasidae and Aplysinidae (ρ ranging from 0.99 to 0.97, p = 0.01–0.001). The Cozumel and Río Indio localities exhibited the highest number of bioactive extracts; notably, extracts of 15 species demonstrated specific biological activities. Furthermore, a dereplication strategy using 13C NMR spectroscopy was applied, aiding in the probable identification of secondary metabolites and clarifying the biological activities of recurrent species from different locations.