Dolabranes from the Chinese Mangrove, Ceriops tagal.

Six new dolabranes, named tagalsins P-U (1-6), were isolated from stems and twigs of a Chinese mangrove, Ceriops tagal, along with seven known dolabranes, an abietane, and a pimarane. The structures of these compounds were established on the basis of spectroscopic data or comparison with data in the literature. The relative configurations of tagalsins P and Q (1, 2), two new 15,16-dinor-dolabranes, were confirmed by means of single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. This is the first report of 16-nordolabranes and 15,16-dinordolabranes from plants of the Ceriops genus. Tagalsins Q (2), R (3), and U (6) showed moderate antifeedant activity against the third-instar larvae of Brontispa longissima at a concentration of 1 mg/mL. However, none of the new dolabranes exhibited significant activity against human cancer cell lines.