Abstract 2394 New Cyclic peptides Aigepatharitides A-C from an undescribed Irish deep-sea black coral Antipatharia spp

Shallow water black corals were harvested as long ago as the ancient Greek civilization, for which they were used as medicines and jewelry. More recently, international conservation measures have been enacted to preserve black corals and their habitats due to overharvesting. Medicinal usage of black corals may stem from their need for chemical defenses to withstand predation since they are unable to withdraw their polyps. With the aim of discovering novel anti-cancer drugs and increase conservational awareness of these organisms, deep-sea black corals from the Irish continental margin were screened for cytotoxicity against solid tumors. This bioassay-guided approach revealed several Antipatharia spp. with selective cytotoxicity against HepG2 cell lines. A chemical investigation of an undescribed Antipatharia sp. yielded three new cyclic peptides (aigepatharitides A-C) bearing the non-canonical amino acid dehydrotryptophan. Structure analysis and bioactivity of the metabolites will be discussed. Funding sources include National Institutes of Health grant AT010939, Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) and the Marine Institute under the Investigators Programme Grant No. SFI/15/1A/3100, and European Regional Development Fund 2014-2020 NMBLI Grant-Aid Agreement PBA/MB/16/01