New Cytotoxic Monoalkyl Glycerol Ether from the Red Sea Soft Coral Nephthea mollis

• Published in: Chemistry & biodiversity Vol. 20; no. 11; pp. e202301208 - n/a
• Main Authors: Eissa, Ahmed H., Abdel‐Tawab, Asmaa M., Hamed, El Sayed A. E., El‐Ablack, Fawzia Z., Ayyad, Seif‐Eldin N.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Weinheim Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.11.2023
• Subjects: Adenocarcinoma; Alcohol; Alcohols; Breast carcinoma; Cancer; Cervical cancer; Cervical carcinoma; Cytotoxicity; Dichloromethane; Glycerol; Hepatocellular carcinoma; Ionization; Lung cancer; Lung carcinoma; Mass spectra; Mass spectroscopy; monoalkyl glycerol ether; Nephthea; Nephthea mollis; NMR; Nuclear magnetic resonance; Propane; Red Sea; soft coral; Tumor cell lines; Two dimensional analysis; Red Sea
• ISSN: 1612-1872; 1612-1880
• DOI: 10.1002/cbdv.202301208

A new monoalkyl glycerol ether, 3‐(n‐henicosyloxy)propane‐1,2‐diol (1), was isolated from the CH2Cl2/MeOH crude extract of the Red Sea soft coral Nephthea mollis. Additionally, three known related analogs were identified: chimyl alcohol (2), batyl alcohol (3), and 3‐(icosyloxy)propane‐1,2‐diol (4). The chemical structure of 3‐(n‐henicosyloxy)propane‐1,2‐diol was determined using advanced spectroscopic analyses, including 1D, 2D Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), Electron Ionization mass spectra (EI‐MS), and High‐Resolution Electron Spray Ionization mass spectra (HR‐ESI‐MS) analyses. Furthermore, the identification of chimyl alcohol, batyl alcohol and 3‐(icosyloxy)propane‐1,2‐diol was achieved by studying their EI mass fragmentation analyses and comparing their mass data with those previously reported in the literature. The cytotoxic activity of the Nephthea mollis crude extract and 3‐(n‐henicosyloxy)propane‐1,2‐diol was evaluated against five human cancer cell lines: HepG2 (hepatocellular carcinoma), MCF‐7 (breast carcinoma), NCI‐1299 (lung carcinoma), HeLa (cervical cancer cell), and HT‐29 (colon adenocarcinoma). Moreover, 3‐(n‐henicosyloxy)propane‐1,2‐diol revealed moderate cytotoxicity against the HeLa cell lines with an IC50 value of 24.1 μM, while showing inactivity against the remaining cell lines (IC50>100 μM).