Structure Elucidation and Anticancer Activity of 7-Oxostaurosporine Derivatives from the Brazilian Endemic Tunicate Eudistoma vannamei

Abstract

The present study reports the identification of two new staurosporine derivatives, 2-hydroxy-7-oxostaurosporine (<strong>1</strong>) and 3-hydroxy-7-oxostaurosporine (<strong>2</strong>), obtained from mid-polar fractions of an aqueous methanol extract of the tunicate <em>Eudistoma vannamei</em>, endemic to the northeast coast of Brazil. The mixture of <strong>1</strong> and <strong>2</strong> displayed IC₅₀ values in the nM range and was up to 14 times more cytotoxic than staurosporine across a panel of tumor cell lines, as evaluated using the MTT assay.

Keywords

• cell cycle arrest
• ascidians
• staurosporine