PANTHERININE, A CYTOTOXIC AROMATIC ALKALOID, AND 7-DEAZAINOSINE FROM THE ASCIDIAN APLIDIUM-PANTHERINUM

A new cytotoxic aromatic alkaloid, pantherinine [1], and a mixture of nucleosides including 7-deazainosine [3] have been isolated from the a scidian Aplidium pantherinum collected at Stenhouse Bay, South Austral ia.The structures were determined primarily from H-1- and C-13-nmr dat a, especially one-bond and multiple-bond proton-carbon correlations. A lthough 7-deazainosine [3] has been known as a synthetic compound for several decades, this appears to be the first report of its isolation as a natural product.