Bioprospecting efforts in the Coral Triangle: A global marine biodiversity hotspot for drug discovery

Background The accelerating rise of antibiotic resistance, increasing complexity of cancer treatment, and emergence of infectious and chronic diseases continue to challenge global drug discovery efforts. Marine ecosystems offer exceptional chemical diversity and have yielded numerous structurally unique metabolites with promising pharmacological properties. Within this context, the Coral Triangle, recognized as the global center of marine biodiversity, represents a valuable yet insufficiently synthesized resource for drug discovery. Although numerous marine natural products from this region have been isolated and characterized, their broader contributions to pharmaceutical development remain insufficiently consolidated. This study presents a systematic review of novel compounds reported from marine organisms inhabiting the Coral Triangle between early 2010 and late 2025, highlighting their potential biological applications. Methods The primary literature dataset was generated through bibliometric analysis using the Scopus database and subsequently refined according to predefined inclusion criteria. To ensure comprehensive coverage, the dataset was complemented by structured manual searches in Google Scholar and PubMed using specific keywords. The extracted data included the investigated organisms, identified secondary metabolite classes, and reported biological activities. Results The findings reveal that sponges, corals, tunicates, mollusks, algae, echinoderms, and their associated microorganisms produce diverse alkaloids, terpenoids, steroids, peptides, and phenolic compounds exhibiting notable anticancer, antibacterial, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, and neuromodulatory activities, highlighting the strong potential of the Coral Triangle to support future drug discovery efforts. Conclusion The Coral Triangle’s biodiversity and chemical diversity offer significant potential for marine-derived drug discovery, which can be realized through integrated research approaches and sustainable resource management.