Chemical Diversity in Species Belonging to Soft Coral Genus Sacrophyton and Its Impact on Biological Activity: A Review

One of the most widely distributed soft coral species, found especially in shallow waters of the Indo-Pacific region, Red Sea, Mediterranean Sea, and also the Arctic, is genus Sacrophyton. The total number of species belonging to it was estimated to be 40. Sarcophyton species are considered to be a reservoir of bioactive natural metabolites. Secondary metabolites isolated from members belonging to this genus show great chemical diversity. They are rich in terpenoids, in particular, cembranoids diterpenes, tetratepenoids, triterpenoids, and ceramide, in addition to steroids, sesquiterpenes, and fatty acids. They showed a broad range of potent biological activities, such as antitumor, neuroprotective, antimicrobial, antiviral, antidiabetic, antifouling, and anti-inflammatory activity. This review presents all isolated secondary metabolites from species of genera Sacrophyton, as well as their reported biological activities covering a period of about two decades (1998-2019). It deals with 481 metabolites, including 323 diterpenes, 39 biscembranoids, 11 sesquiterpenes, 53 polyoxygenated sterols, and 55 miscellaneous and their pharmacological activities.

Chemical Constituents of the Soft Coral Sarcophyton Infundibuliforme from the South China Sea

One new cembrane diterpenoid, named sarcolactone A (1), along with five known compounds (2–6) were isolated from the soft coral Sarcophyton infundibuliforme collected from the South China Sea. The structure of sarcolactone A (1) was elucidated by comprehensive analysis of spectral data, especially 2D-NMR spectra (1H-1H COSY, HMBC and NOESY). All the compounds were evaluated for their brine shrimp lethality and antifouling activities.

Additional New Tetracyclic Tetraterpenoid: Methyl Tortuoate D from Soft Coral Sarcophyton tortuosum

Under the guidance of chemical prescreening by direct infusion electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (DI ESI-MS), a new tetracyclic tetraterpenoid, methyl tortuoate D (1) was isolated from the soft coral Sarcophyton tortuosum collected from the South China Sea. Its structure and relative stereochemistry were established by MS, and 1D- and 2D-NMR spectroscopic techniques.