3-oxoabolene and 1-oxocurcuphenol, aromatic bisabolanes from the sponge Myrmekioderma sp.

Two new aromatic bisabolane sesquiterpenes possessing an oxo functionality on the prenyl chain, (+)-3-oxoabolene (3) and (+)-l-oxocurcuphenol (4), along with two known sesquiterpenes, (+)-curcuphenol (1) and (+)-curcudiol (2), were isolated from the sponge Myrmekioderma sp. The antiproliferative activity of 2-4 was determined and showed an interesting selectivity; i.e., a good activity against HT-29 cells with IC50s in the microM range, but a weak and incalculable toxicity against Hela and normal fibroblast cells.