| This thesis is an account of investigation on the natural products deriving from various marine algae and has resulted in the discovery of eleven novel bioactive metabolites. Isolation and characterization of these new molecules were carried out using different chromatographic techniques and by analyses of different spectroscopic data, respectively.; Using bioassay guided fractionation (brine shrimp toxicity assay), I isolated and identified five new, biologically active compounds [2beta,3alpha-epitaondiol, flabellinol, flabellinone, stypoaldehyde and stypohydroperoxide], together with five known compounds [2-geranylgeranyl-6-methyl-1, 4-benzoquinone, (-) epistypodiol, (-) stypoldione, fucoxanthin and iditol] from the marine brown alga Stypopodium flabelliforme, collected from Papua New Guinea. All of the new compounds were found to have cytotoxic activity (EC50 ranges from 0.8--10 mug/ml) in human lung cancer (NCI-H460). 2beta,3alpha-epitaondiol and flabellinol exhibited strong sodium channel blocking activity (EC50 = 0.3 and 0.9 mug/ml, respectively).; As a result of efforts to identify bioactive agents from marine algae, I have isolated and identified one new halogenated monoterpene [(-)-(5 E,7Z)-3,4,8-trichloro-7-dichloromethyl-3-methyl-1,5,7-octatriene] in addition to another three known halogenated monoterpene compounds from the red alga Plocamium cartilagineum collected from the eastern coast of South Africa. [(-)-(5E,7Z)-3,4,8-trichloro-7-dichloromethyl-3-methyl-1,5,7-octatriene] was found to be active as a cytotoxic agent in human lung cancer (NCI-H460) and mouse neuro-2a cell lines (EC50 4 mug/ml).; As part of continued search for bioactive secondary metabolites from marine sources using a bioassay guided fractionation approach (anti-trypanosome activity), I examined the organic extract of a Papua New Guinean collection of the green alga Udotea orientalis growing on a coral wall and collected in September 1998. Successive HPLC separations resulted in the isolation of three new compounds; (+) curcuepoxide A, (+) curcuepoxide B and (+)-10alpha-hydroxycurcudiol. In addition I isolated four known compounds; (+)-10beta-hydroxycurcudiol, (+) curcuphenol, (+) curcudiol and (+) curcudiol-10-one.; A bioassay guided investigation approach (anti-Sirt2) of a Lyngbya majuscula collection from Key West Florida, led to the discovery of two novel bioactive natural products [(+)-malyngamide X and one cyclic depsipeptide, (+)-floridamide]. The new cyclic depsipeptide, (+)-floridamide contains four amino acids units beside the unique unit, 2,2-dimethyl-3-hydroxyoctanoic acid (Dhoaa). |
