Abstract
Two new steroidal glycosides, pregna-5,20-diene-3-O-β-glucopyranoside (1), and pregna-5,20-diene-3-O-β-(6′-O-acetyl) glucopyranoside (2), and the known trihydroxy sterol, pregna-5-ene-3β,20α,21-triol (3) have been isolated from the Gulf of California gorgonian Muricea cf austera. The structures of the new compounds were established on the basis of chemical and spectral studies. Compound 2, and its per-acetylated derivative, 4, displayed moderate in vitro cytotoxicity (IC50 = 17.3 and 14.3 μg/mL) toward HCT-116 human colon carcinoma. Compound 3 showed growth inhibition of Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis at 250 μg/disk, in the agar disk-diffusion assay.