A new sesquiterpene from the gorgonian coral Menella sp.

Abstract

A new sesquiterpene named menecubebane B (1) and a known analogue (2) were isolated from the gorgonian coral Menella sp. Their structures were elucidated by the extensive analyses of spectroscopic data and by the comparison with related literature. Cytotoxic effect against both Eca9706 and HeLa cell lines was evaluated, revealing 1 exhibited moderate cytotoxicity against the two cell lines involved with IC₅₀ values being 20.8 and 30.6 μM, respectively.

Keywords:

• Gorgonian coral
• Menella sp.
• sesquiterpene
• cytotoxicity

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant number 21315046], [grant number 21172094], [grant number 41376155], [grant number 21372100], [grant number 31201028], [grant number U1301131]; the National High Technology Research and Development Program (‘863’ Program) of China [grant number 2013AA092902].