Bromophenols from the marine red alga Polysiphonia urceolata with DPPH radical scavenging activity.

Three new (1-3) and three known (4-6) bromophenols were isolated and identified from the marine red alga Polysiphonia urceolata. On the basis of extensive analysis of spectroscopic data, the structures of these compounds were determined to be 7-bromo-9,10-dihydrophenanthrene-2,3,5,6-tetraol (1), 4,7-dibromo-9,10-dihydrophenanthrene-2,3,5,6-tetraol (2), 1,8-dibromo-5,7-dihydrodibenzo[ c,e]oxepine-2,3,9,10-tetraol (3), urceolatol (4), 3-bromo-4,5-dihydroxybenzaldehyde (5), and 3,5-dibromo-4-hydroxybenzaldehyde (6). Each of the isolated compounds was evaluated for alpha,alpha-diphenyl-beta-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity, and all were found to be potent, with IC50 values ranging from 6.1 to 35.8 microM, compared to the positive control, butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), with an IC50 of 83.8 microM.