New polybrominated diphenyl ether from the marine sponge Dysidea herbacea

Abstract

Tropical marine sponges of the family Dysideidae contain a series of antimicrobial polybrominated diphenyl ethers with varying degrees of hydroxylation, methoxylation, and bromination [1]. Recently this class of metabolites has attracted attention because of their ability to inhibit 15-lipoxygenase in mammals [2] and the assembly of microtubular proteins [3] and to regulate interleukin-8 production [4]. We investigated the marine sponge Dysidea herbacea collected in the Large Barrier Reef during the ninth cruise of R/V Academic Oparin. Sponge (3 g) was lyophilized and extracted with CHCl3. The extract was repeatedly chromatographed over silica gel to produce 1 (0.9 mg), 2 (10 mg), 3 (4.5 mg), 4 (0.6 mg), 5 (0.5 mg), and 6 (0.5 mg). Compounds 2-6 were identified by comparing their spectral properties with those in the literature [5, 6]. Diphenyl ether 1, mp 181-183°C (CHCl3) was a new representative of this class.