Sesquiterpenoid quinones with remarkable properties, such as anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antiviral, antitumor, antiangiogenic, and differentiation-inducing activities, have reportedly been isolated from the marine sponge genera Dysidea, Spongia, and Dactylospongia. In our continuing search for bioactive compounds from marine sponges, three new sesquiterpenoid quinones, langcoquinones D-F (1-3), were isolated from the ethyl acetate extract of Spongia sp. collected from Vietnam. Their chemical structures were elucidated on the basis of extensive spectroscopic analyses. The newly isolated compounds 1-3 were assessed for their antibacterial activities against Gram-positive bacteria, Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus, and Gram-negative bacteria, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Escherichia coli, as well as their cytotoxic activities against three human cancer cell lines (A549, lung cancer; MCF7, breast cancer; HeLa, cervical cancer) and a human normal cell line (WI-38 fibroblast). All compounds were inactive against the Gram-negative bacteria. Furthermore, langcoquinones E (2) and F (3) lacked antibacterial activities against the Gram-positive bacteria and cytotoxic activities against the tested cell lines. However, langcoquinone D (1) exhibited good antibacterial activities against Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus, with MIC values of 12.5 and 25.0 µM, respectively. Furthermore, 1 exhibited significant cytotoxic activities against three human cancer cell lines (A549, lung cancer; MCF7, breast cancer; HeLa, cervical cancer) and a human normal cell line (WI-38 fibroblast).
Keywords: Antibacterial activity; Cytotoxic activity; Sesquiterpene quinones; Spongia sp.; Vietnam.