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A short Friedel-Crafts mediated total synthesis has informed structure revision of the rare marine sponge natural product echinosulfone A (1a) and the biosynthetically related echinosulfonic acids A–D (2a–5a).

Chemical analysis of a jasmine rice cultivation of an Australian mud dauber wasp-associated fungus, Talaromyces sp. CMB-W045, led to the discovery of a new p-terphenyl, talarophenol sulfate (1). The structure elucidation of 1 was achieved by detailed spectroscopic analysis supported by acid hydrolysis to the p-hydroquinone talarophenol (2), and subsequent in situ air oxidation to trace amounts of the p-quinone talaroquinone (3). The same jasmine rice cultivation also yielded the new talarophilones A (4) and B (5), and known (+)-mitorubrin (6) and pochonin D (7), with structures assigned by detailed spectroscopic analysis. Neither 1 or 4–7 exhibited growth inhibitory properties against a panel of human cell lines, or bacterial or fungal pathogens, although 1 did exhibit selective antibacterial activity against Streptococcus pyogenes ATCC 12344 (IC50 10 µM).

Biological screening of a deep-water Great Australian Bight marine sponge, Axinella sp., detected inhibition against the neurodegenerative disease kinase targets CDK5/p25, CK1δ, and GSK3β, as well as significant levels of antibacterial activity. Chemical fractionation returned 18 secondary metabolites identified by detailed spectroscopic analysis as three new bromopyrrolo-2-aminoimidazoles, 14-O-sulfate massadine (1), 14-O-methyl massadine (2), and 3-O-methyl massadine chloride (3), together with the known metabolites massadine chloride (4), massadine (5), stylissadine B (6), axinellamines A–C (7–9), hymenin (10), stevensine (also known as odiline) (11), tauroacidin A (12), hymenidin (13), taurodispacamide A (14), oroidin (15), debromohymenialdisine (16), hymenialdisine (17), and aldisin (18). Armed with this focused natural product chemical diversity library, we re-established that 16 and 17 were nM kinase inhibitors, and determined that 3, 6, and 12–15 were sub μM antibacterials.

Chemical analysis of a Chinese collection of the marine red alga Symphyocladia latiuscula yielded five unprecedented bromophenol-aconitic acid adducts, symphyocladins A-E, together with a new example of a bromophenol-pyroglutamic acid adduct, symphyocladin F, a new example of a bromophenol-urea adduct, symphyocladin G, and the known methyl ester of cis-aconitic acid. The structures were assigned on the basis of detailed spectroscopic analysis, and were consistent with a plausible biosynthetic pathway linking these bromophenol natural products with a putative quinone methide intermediate. Symphyocladins A/B and C/D were isolated as inseparable 1:1 mixtures of E/Z isomers. A plausible mechanism for their facile equilibration during handling and storage is presented. The bromophenol-urea exhibits antifungal activity (MIC 10 μg/mL) against Candida albicans.

Chemical fractionation of the southern Australian marine sponge Phoriospongia sp. (CMB-03107) yielded phorioadenine A (1) as a nematocidal agent and the first reported example of a 6-N-acyladenine natural product. The structure of 1 was confirmed by spectroscopic analysis and the chemical synthesis of racemic (1a) and enantiomeric (1b) analogues. HPLC–ESIMS analysis of the crude sponge extract with comparisons to the synthetic 6-N-acyladenosine 2a provided evidence that the biosynthetically related adenosine, phorioadenosine A (2), was present as a trace co-metabolite. The rare starfish metabolite asterubine (3) was also isolated as a co-metabolite, and its structure confirmed by spectroscopic analysis and chemical synthesis. Biological investigations confirmed that natural products 1–3 and synthetic analogues 1a–e and 2a were not cytotoxic to multiple mammalian cancer cell lines, or Gram-positive or -negative bacteria. Nematocidal activity (inhibition of larval development of Haemonchus contortus) detected in the Phoriospongia sp. extract was attributed to 1 (LD99 31 μg/mL), with preliminary structure–activity relationship investigations confirming the importance of the N-acyl side chain.

Chemical analysis of an East China Sea marine-derived fungus, Aspergillus sydowii (MF357) returned three new tris-pyrogallol ethers, sydowiols A-C (1-3), and two known bis-pyrogallol ethers, violaceols I (4) and 11 (5). Structures were assigned on the basis of detailed spectroscopic analysis and by consideration of symmetry. Sydowiols A (1) and C (3) were responsible for the inhibitory activity detected in the crude fungal extract against Mycobacterium tuberculosis protein tyrosine phosphatase A (PtpA). (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Herein, we describe the isolation of rare alkaloids, haenamindole and citreoindole, from a South China Sea deep-sea fungus, Penicillium citrinum (MF006), and their structure revision based on detailed spectroscopic and C3 Marfey’s analysis.

Chemical analysis of a marine-derived Streptomyces sp. (CMB-M0392) isolated from sediment collected off Heron Island, Queensland, Australia, yielded a new benzothiazine ansamycin, heronamycin A. The absolute stereostructure of heronamycin A was determined by detailed spectroscopic analysis and Xray crystallography. Heronamycin A exhibited modest antimicrobial activity against Bacillus subtilis strains ATCC 6051 and 6633 (IC50 = 18 and 14 mu M, respectively). (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Chemical investigations into samples of Hunteria umbellata (K. Schum) collected in Osun State, Nigeria, led to the discovery of a new indole alkaloid, ikirydinium A, featuring an unprecedented 3-alkylpyridinium-indole-2-carboxylate scaffold. Ikirydinium A was found to exhibit antimicrobial activity (IC50 0.6 μM) against Bacillus subtilis ATCC 6051. The involvement of a common intermediate in the biosynthesis of ikirydinium A and vinblastine is hypothesized.

The biomimetic synthesis of novel lipids 1, 2, 8 and 10 obtained from the southern Australian marine brown alga Notheia anomala has been achieved, and features the acid mediated conversion of methylene interrupted bisepoxides to tetrahydrofurans. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.