Sesquiterpene and Acetogenin Derivatives from the Marine Red Alga Laurencia okamurai

In addition to 13 known compounds, four new bisabolane sesquiterpenes, okamurenes A-D (1-4), a new chamigrane derivative, okamurene E (5), and a new C-12-acetogenin, okamuragenin (6), were isolated from the marine red alga Laurencia okamurai. The structures of these compounds were determined through detailed spectroscopic analyses. Of these, okamurenes A and B (1 and 2) are the first examples of bromobisabolane sesquiterpenes possessing a phenyl moiety among Laurencia-derived sesquiterpenes, while okamuragenin (6) was the first acetogenin aldehyde possessing a C-12-carbon skeleton. Each of the isolated compounds was evaluated for the brine shrimp (Artemia salina) lethal assay and 7-hydroxylaurene displayed potent lethality with LD50 1.8 mu M.