Isometachromin,a new cytotoxic sesquiterpenoid from a deep water sponge of the family Spongiidae

Isometachromin (1), a new sesquiterpene-quinone that is related structurally to metachromin C (2), and the known compounds ilimaquinone (3) and and 5-epi-ilimaquinone (4), were isolated from a deep water sponge in the family Spongiidae; the structure of isometachromin was elucidated by spectral methods. Isometachromin exhibits in vitro cytotoxicity against the human lung cancer cell line A 549 (IC₅₀=2.6 g/ml), but not against P 388 murine leukemia (IC₅₀10 g/ml) and also exhibits antimicrobial activity.This research is Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution (HBOI) contribution number 911. We thank Drs S. A. Pomponi and M. Kelly-Borges (HBOI) for sponge taxonomy, and Dr P. McCarthy and T. Peterson (HBOI) for antimicrobial data.