Kororamide A, a new tribrominated indole alkaloid from the Australian bryozoan Amathia tortuosa

Abstract

A new tribrominated indole alkaloid, kororamide A together with the known alkaloid convolutamine F, were isolated through the application of mass directed purification from the bryozoan, Amathia tortuosa collected from northern New South Wales, Australia. The structure of kororamide A was deduced from the analysis of 1D/2D NMR and MS data. Kororamide A exists in solution as a mixture of interconverting cis-trans amide regioisomers in a ratio of 4:5. Bioactivity testing demonstrated that kororamide A was marginally active against chloroquine-sensitive and resistant strains of the malarial parasite Plasmodium falciparum, and was inactive against normal human cell lines.