Five new suberosanone-purine hybrids, namely subergorgines A-E (1-5), were isolated from the South China Sea gorgonian Subergorgia suberosa. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of extensive spectroscopic data and the absolute configurations were clarified by the theoretical ECD calculation. Compounds 1-5 were rare purine alkaloids merged with the same suberosanone moiety via different C (6)-N bridges. Cytotoxic activities of the isolates were tested. Compound 4 was found to be the most active against the HL-60 cancer cell line with an IC50 value of 14.3 μM. A plausible biosynthetic pathway for suberosanone-purine hybrids was also discussed.
Keywords: Cytotoxicity; Gorgonian; Subergorgia suberosa; Suberosanone-purine hybrids.
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