Cytotoxic and anti-inflammatory diterpenoids from the Dongsha Atoll soft coral Sinularia flexibilis

Seven new diterpenoids, namely, flexibilisolides C-G (1-5), flexibilisin C (6), and a novel 11,12-secoflexibillin (7), along with seven known compounds, 8-14, were isolated from the Dongsha Atoll soft coral Sinularia flexibilis. The structures of the new metabolites were elucidated by extensive spectroscopic analysis and comparison of the NMR data with those of known analogues. Compounds 1, 8, and 11 were shown to exhibit moderate cytotoxic activity against HeLa and B16 cancer cell lines, and compound 10 was found to exhibit more potent cytotoxic activity against SK-Hep1 and B16 cancer cell lines. Moreover, compounds 1, 2, 8, 9, and 11-14 could significantly inhibit the accumulation of the pro-inflammatory iNOS protein and 1, 8, 11, and 14 could reduce the accumulation of COX-2 protein in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophage cells.

Graphical abstractSeven new diterpenoids, flexibilisolides C-G (1-5), flexibilisin C (6), and a novel 11,12-secoflexibillin (7), along with seven known compounds, 8-14, were isolated from the Dongsha Atoll soft coral Sinularia flexibilis. Several compounds have been shown to exhibit anti-inflammatory activity.Download full-size image