Naturally occurring marine α,β‐epoxy steroids: Origin and biological activities

The present review describes the biological activities of more than 100 marine α,β‐epoxy steroids. These steroids have been isolated from marine invertebrates including, sponges, starfish, soft corals and nudibranch (Mollusca). We used the computer program PASS and based on structure‐activity relationships (SAR), which contains more than one million chemical compounds and more than 8,000 biological activities. The most frequently predicted activities are anti‐neoplastic, anti‐inflammatory, anti‐fungal and other activities are identified with a certainty of 76 to 94 percent. The main activities for different groups of steroids differ significantly.