Yanucamides A (1) and B (2) were isolated from the lipid extract of a Lyngbya majuscula and Schizothrixsp. assemblage collected at Yanuca Island, Fiji. The structures of compounds 1 and 2 were determined by spectroscopic methods. Both compounds contain a unique 2,2-dimethyl-3-hydroxy-7-octynoic acid, which has previously been described only as a component of kulolide-1 (3) and kulokainalide-1 (4), metabolites from the marine mollusk Philinopsis speciosa. Thus, the isolation of the yanucamides from this cyanobacterial assemblage supports the hypothesis that the kulolides and related metabolites are of cyanobacterial origin.

Chemical investigation of the marine red alga (Rhodophyta) Ceratodictyon spongiosum containing the symbiotic sponge Sigmadocia symbiotica collected from Biaro Island, Indonesia, yielded two isomers of a new and bioactive thiazole-containing cyclic heptapeptide, cis,cis-ceratospongamide (1) and trans, trans-ceratospongamide (2). Isolation of these peptides was assisted by bioassay-guided fractionation using a brine shrimp toxicity assay (Artemia salina). The structures of the ceratospongamides, which each consist of two L-phenylalanine residues, one (L-isoleucine)-L-methyloxazoline residue, one L-proline residue, and one (L-proline)thiazole residue, were established through extensive NMR spectroscopy, including (1)H-(13)C HMQC-TOCSY, and (1)H-(15)N HMBC experiments, as well as chemical degradation and chiral analysis. cis,cis- and trans,trans-ceratospongamide are stable conformational isomers of the two proline amide bonds. Molecular modeling of these two ceratospongamide isomers showed the trans, trans isomer to be quite planar, whereas the cis,cis isomer has a more puckered overall conformation. trans,trans-Ceratospongamide exhibits potent inhibition of sPLA(2) expression in a cell-based model for antiinflammation (ED(50) 32 nM), whereas the cis,cis isomer is inactive. trans,trans-Ceratospongamide was also shown to inhibit the expression of a human-sPLA(2) promoter-based reporter by 90%.

The lipid extract of a Madagascan Lyngbya majuscula has yielded malyngamides Q and R, both amides of 7-methoxytetradec-4-enoic acid. The isolation of these metabolites was accomplished using preparative liquid chromatography, with final purification through repetitive reversed-phase HPLC. Structure elucidation was accomplished utilizing 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic characterization of the natural products and comparisons with malyngamides A and B. DPFGSE 1D NOE data suggested a different geometrical stereochemistry at C-6 in malyngamides Q and R from that observed for malyngamide A, as well as the other known malyngamides. The Z stereochemistry was confirmed for malyngamide R by measurement of key diagnostic (3)J(CH) couplings utilizing the HSQMBC pulse sequence. The absolute stereochemistry of C-4' ' of the pyrrolidone ring was defined by chiral GCMS analysis of serine released by ozonolysis and acid hydrolysis.

Two new compounds, 5-(11'(S)-hydroxy-8'-heptadecenyl)resorcinol (3) and 5-(12'(S)-hydroxy-8',14'-heptadecadienyl)resorcinol (4), were isolated from the leaves of Stylogyne turbacensis together with the known analogue metabolites 1 and 2. Compounds 3 and 4 showed the strongest activity in the leishmania assay, 7 and 3 microM, respectively, while compounds 1, 2, and 4 showed moderate activity against a drug-resistant strain of Trypanosoma cruzi with IC(50) values of 30, 25, and 22 microM, respectively. Additional testing in MCF-7 and NCI-H460 was performed for compounds 3 and 4. The structures of compounds 1-4 were elucidated using NMR, MS, and other spectroscopic data. The absolute stereochemistry of compounds 3 and 4 was also investigated using the Mosher ester approach. Peracetylated derivatives of these four metabolites were produced and their activities determined in the Trypanosoma cruzi assay.