Long-chain acetylenic ketones from the micronesian sponge haliclona sp. Importance of the 1-yn-3-ol group for antitumor activity

Abstract

Two new long-chain C33 polyacetylenic compounds, halicynones A and B were isolated from the marine sponge Haliclona sp. along with known analogs. The known compound pellynol A possessing a 1-yn-3-ol terminus, exhibited strong antitumor activity against the human colon tumor cell line HCT-116 (IC50 0.026 µg/mL), however, the corresponding 1-yn-3-one, halicynone A, was inactive, which suggests an important role for the terminal 1-yn-3-ol functional group in mediating cytotoxic activity.