Cytotoxic beta-carbolines and cyclic peroxides from the Palauan sponge Plakortis nigra.

Four beta-carbolines, plakortamines A-D, two cyclic peroxides, epiplakinic acids G and H, and two related gamma-lactones, (2S,4R)- and (2R,4R)-2,4-dimethyl-4-hydroxy-16-phenylhexadecanoic acid 1,4-lactones, were isolated from the deep-water sponge Plakortis nigra from Palau. The structures of the eight new metabolites were elucidated by interpretation of spectroscopic data. Most of the metabolites inhibited the HCT-116 human colon tumor cell line.