Resumen

D´ARMAS, Haydelba; BERMUDEZ, Douglas  y  MENDEZ, Bernardo. Isolation and structural caracterization of a new triterpene from the octocoral Plexaura Flexuosa Lamoroux. INCI [online]. 2008, vol.33, n.9, pp.680-686. ISSN 0378-1844.

Previous studies of natural products of marine origin have showen that octocorals produce a variety of metabolites with diverse chemical structures and significant bioactivities. The acetone extract of the octocoral Plexaura flexuosa Lamoroux collected at Mochima Bay, Sucre state, Venezuela, was analyzed and evaluated for its antibacterial, antifungal and toxic properties, showing a significant antibacterial activity against the Gram positive bacteria Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus cereus, and also a significant lethality in the Artemia salina bioassay. The hexane-soluble fraction of this extract exhibited antifungal activity against Candida albicans and Trichosporum sp. A white solid was isolated from this fraction by successive column chromatography with different proportions of hexane:EtOAc mixtures as eluting solvents. The compound was crystallized with EtOAc, forming needle-shaped white crystals with a melting point of 194.8-195.0°C. Subsequently, spectroscopy analyses were performed for the structural identification of this solid, employing IR, ¹HNMR, ¹³CNMR, HMQC, HMBC and ¹H-¹HCOSY, which revealed the presence of tetra-cyclical triterpene skeleton with a side chain, eight methyl groups, a trisubstituted double bond and an exocyclical epoxy group. Spectral data analysis and comparison with reported structures permitted the establishment of a of 3.5-epoxy dinosterol derivative as the possible structure of the compound.

Palabras clave : Derivado 3,5-epoxi del Dinosterol; Octocoral; Plexaura flexuosa Lamoroux; RMN.