Spirovetivane- and Eudesmane-Type Sesquiterpenoids Isolated from the Culture Media of Two Cyanobacterial Strains.

As part of a study examining polar metabolites produced by cyanobacterial strains, we examined media extracts of a sp. (strain R-3-1) and a sp. (strain U-3-3). The cell mass of each was separated from the media, and HP20 resin was added for adsorption of secreted metabolites, a relatively unexplored area of cyanobacterial chemistry. HPLC-UV-LCMS-guided isolation led to the discovery of seven sesquiterpenoid compounds with five new, one known, and one previously isolated as the methyl ester. Through a complement of 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic techniques, the planar structures and relative configurations of the seven compounds were elucidated. Spironostoic acid (), 11,12-didehydrospironostoic acid (), and 12-hydroxy-2-oxo-11--hinesol () are spirovetivane-type compounds from R-3-1, while stigolone (), 11,12-dihydroxystigolone (), and 11,12-dihydroxystigolone () are three eudesmane-type compounds from U-3-3. Circular dichroism was utilized to decipher the absolute configurations of new compounds , , , , , and . Due to the structural variety observed among the spirovetivane- and eudesmane-type compounds in the literature and often a lack of clarity in how determinations were made, computational spectra and model compounds were used to support the interpretation of ECD and NMR spectra. A straightforward process to determine the configuration of these systems is presented.