Sarcophytrols G - L, Novel Minor Metabolic Components from South China Sea Soft Coral Sarcophyton trocheliophorum Marenzeller.

Minor metabolic components, six new cembranoids sarcophytrols G - L (1 - 6) along with two known related analogues 7 and 8, were isolated from the South China Sea soft coral Sarcophyton trocheliophorum. Their structures were elucidated by extensive spectroscopic analyses (1D- and 2D-NMR, and ESI-MS.) as well as comparison with literature data. As part of our ongoing research project for discovering bioactive substances from Chinese marine invertebrates, compounds 1 - 8 were tested for their inhibitory activity against protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B), a key target for the treatment of Type-II diabetes and obesity. However, none of them exhibited potent PTP1B inhibitory activities.