Petrosamine B, an inhibitor of the Helicobacter pylori enzyme aspartyl semialdehyde dehydrogenase from the Australian sponge Oceanapia sp.

Bioassay-guided fractionation of the MeOH extract of the sponge Oceanapia sp. using the Helicobacter pylori enzyme, aspartyl semialdehyde dehydrogenase, ASD, to detect antibacterial activity, led to the isolation of a new pyridoacridine alkaloid, petrosamine B (1). Petrosamine B is a bright blue compound that is sparingly soluble in many organic solvents. The structure of 1 was determined from detailed NMR studies performed in TFA/D2O. Petrosamine B was found to be a weak inhibitor of ASD with an IC50 of 306 microM.