Paracaseolide A, First α-Alkylbutenolide Dimer with an Unusual Tetraquinane Oxa-Cage Bislactone Skeleton from Chinese Mangrove Sonneratia paracaseolaris

A novel alpha-alkylbutenolide dimer, paracaseolide A (2), characterized by an unusual tetraquinane oxa-cage bislactone skeleton bearing two linear alkyl chains, was isolated from the mangrove plant Sonneratia paracaseolaris. The structure of 2 was elucidated by extensive spectroscopic analysis. A plausible retrosynthetic pathway for paracaseolide A (2) was proposed. Compound 2 exhibited significant inhibitory activity against dual specificity phosphatase CDC25B, a key enzyme for cell cycle progression, with an IC50 value of 6.44 mu M.