A new steroid from the Red Sea soft coral <i>Lobophytum lobophytum</i>

<div><p>Chemical investigation of the soft coral <i>Lobophytum lobophytum</i> collected from the Red Sea led to the isolation of a new compound gorgostan-5,25-dien-3β-ol (<b>1</b>), and two known compounds gorgosterol (<b>2</b>), and alismol (<b>3</b>). Structures were elucidated by employing extensive NMR and HR-ESI-MS experiments.</p></div

New cytotoxic constituents from the Red Sea soft coral <i>Nephthea</i> sp.

<p><i>Nephthea</i> are soft coral species rich in sesquiterpenoids and steroids. An organic extract of <i>Nephthea</i> sp. resulted in the isolation of a new steroid (<b>1</b>), as well as several previously reported metabolites (<b>2</b>–<b>9</b>). Structures were elucidated by employing NMR and HR-EI-MS analyses. The total extract, fractions and purified compounds exhibited differential cytotoxicity against the breast cancer MCF-7 cell line.</p