Four new cembranoids, sarcophelegans A-D (1-4) and six known analogues (5-10) were isolated from the South China Sea soft coral Sarcophyton elegans. Their structures were elucidated through detailed spectroscopic analysis, and the absolute configuration of 1 was confirmed by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The antimigratory potential of compounds 1-10 were evaluated and compounds 2 and 6 were found to inhibit human breast tumor MDA-MB-231 cell migration at 10 μM.
Keywords: Sarcophyton elegans; antimigratory activity; cembranoids.