Bromopyrrole alkaloids isolated from the Patagonian bryozoan Aspidostoma giganteum.

Nine new bromopyrrole alkaloids, aspidostomides A-H and aspidazide A (1-9), were isolated from the Patagonian bryozoan Aspidostoma giganteum. Aspidostomides A-H have dibromotyrosine- or bromotryptophan-derived moieties forming either linear amides or pyrroloketopiperazine-type lactams with a bromopyrrole carboxylic acid as a common structural motif. On the other hand, aspidazide A is a rare asymmetric acyl azide formed by an N-N link of two different pyrroloketopiperazine lactams and is the first isolated compound of this class from marine invertebrates. This work is the first report of secondary metabolites isolated from a bryozoan from the Patagonian region. The structures of compounds 1-9 were elucidated by spectroscopic methods and chemical transformations. One of these compounds, aspidostomide E (5), was moderately active against the 786-O renal carcinoma cell line.