Affiliation:
1. Section of Pharmacognosy and Chemistry of Natural Products Department of Pharmacy School of Health Sciences National and Kapodistrian University of Athens Panepistimiopolis Zografou Athens 15771 Greece
2. Laboratory of Growth Regulators Institute of Experimental Botany of the Czech Academy of Sciences and Faculty of Science Palacký University Slechtitelu 27 Olomouc CZ-78371 Czech Republic
3. Department of Experimental Biology Faculty of Science Palacký University Slechtitelu 27 Olomouc CZ-78371 Czech Republic
4. Department of Neurology University Hospital in Olomouc Zdravotníků 248/7 Olomouc CZ-77900 Czech Republic
5. Red Sea Research Center King Abdullah University of Science and Technology Thuwal 23955-6900 Saudi Arabia
Abstract
AbstractOver the last decades, soft corals have been proven a rich source of biologically active compounds, featuring a wide range of chemical structures. Herein, we investigated the chemistry of an alcyonarian of the genus Lemnalia (Neptheidae), specimens of which were collected from the coral reefs near Al Lith, on the south‐west coast of Saudi Arabia. A series of chromatographic separations led to the isolation of 31 sesquiterpenes, featuring mainly the nardosinane and neolemnane carbon skeletons, among which three (13, 14 and 28) are new natural products. The metabolites isolated in sufficient amounts were evaluated in vitro in human tumor and non‐cancerous cell lines for a number of biological activities, including their cytotoxic, anti‐inflammatory, anti‐angiogenic, and neuroprotective activities, as well as for their effect on androgen receptor (AR)‐regulated transcription. Among the tested metabolites, compound 12 showed comparable neuroprotective activity to the positive control N‐acetylcysteine, albeit at a 10‐fold lower concentration.
Funder
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology