STUDIES OF AUSTRALIAN SOFT CORALS-XXXV. THE TERPENOID CHEMISTRY OF SOFT CORALS AND ITS IMPLICATIONS

Article abstract of DOI:10.1016/S0040-4020(01)96476-2

The in vivo incorporation of mevalonolactone specifically into the terpene portion of a sesquiterpene hydroquinone is reported for the soft coral Sinularia capillosa.Eudesma-4,7(11)-diene-8β-ol (20) and the corresponding 8-keto derivative (21) have been isolated from the soft coral Nephthea species for the first time.The aeolid nudibranch Phyllodesmium longicirra was collected when feeding on the soft coral Sarcophyton trocheliophorum, and the known diterpene trocheliophorol (25) was found to be concentrated in the cerata of the nudibranch.The absolute stereochemistry of trocheliophorol (25) has been rigorously determined, and shown to be that previously assigned on spectroscopic grounds.