Pregnane steroids from a gorgonian coral Subergorgia suberosa with anti-flu virus effects

• Five new pregnane steroids isolated from Subergorgia suberosa.
• Photochemical conversion to prove new structures.
• Three compounds showing potent anti-flu virus activities.

Five new pregnane-type steroids namely subergorgols T–X (1–5) and three known analogues (6–8) were isolated from a gorgonian coral Subergorgia suberosa. The structures of new compounds were determined on the basis of extensive spectroscopic (IR, MS, 1D and 2D NMR) data analyses, in association with photochemical transformation and ECD methods for the configurational assignment. Compounds 1–8 were evaluated for the inhibitory effects against H1N1 virus infected in MDCK cells, while subergorgols T–U and 1,2-dehydroprogesterone exerted potent inhibition against A/WSN/33 virus.

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