UC San Diego

Three decahydroisoquinoline alkaloids, lepadins I-K, were isolated from a specimen of Didemnum sp. collected in the Bahamas. The structures of the new compounds were assigned by an integrated analysis of MS, IR, and ¹H, ¹³C, and 2D NMR spectra. Like previously reported lepadins, the structures of the new compounds contain a decahydroquinoline heterocyclic core in lepadin I, and a new variation, an octahydroquinoline in lepadin J, but differ from earlier reported compounds by acylation of the 3-hydroxyl group by a rare 3'-methylthioacrylate. The absolute configuration of lepadin I was solved by interpretation of NOE measurements, and exciton coupled circular dichroism (ECCD) of the corresponding N- p-bromobenzoyl derivative. The latter constitutes a general method for determination of absolute configuration of the entire lepadin family. The configuration of the remote side-chain secondary carbinol was solved by the modified Mosher's esters method. Lepadin I inhibited butyrylcholineesterase (BuChE, IC₅₀ 3.1 μM), but only weakly inhibited acetylcholineesterase (AChE) (10% at 100 μM).