Cytotoxic and antifungal triterpene glycosides from the Patagonian sea cucumber Hemoiedema spectabilis.

Two new sulfated triterpene glycosides, hemoiedemosides A (1) and B (2), have been isolated from the Patagonian sea cucumber Hemoiedema spectabilis. Their structures have been established by a combination of spectroscopic analysis (NMR and FABMS) and chemical transformations. Both glycosides present the same aglycon and differ in the degree of sulfation of the tetrasaccharide chain. Hemoiedemoside B (2) is a new example of a small number of trisulfated triterpene glycosides from sea cucumbers belonging to the family Cucumariidae. Glycosides 1 and 2 exhibit considerable antifungal activity against the phytopathogenic fungus Cladosporium cucumerinum, while the semisynthetic desulfated derivative 1a is less active.