Dactylospongia metachromia and Dactylospongia elegans collected from French Polynesia were studied with a particular focus on the variation of the diastereomeric ratio between ilimaquinone (4) and 5-epi-ilimaquinone (5). More than 100 samples, covering an area of 4100 km2, were studied to try to clarify this intriguing issue. Nuclear magnetic resonance appeared as the non-destructive, straightforward technique of choice for a relative quantitative study. A random distribution, unique at that point in nature, is observed and leads to biosynthetic considerations. Biological evaluation of both compounds was also performed and showed moderate discrepancies in cytotoxicity and apoptosis induction.
研究人员对从法属波利尼西亚采集到的 Dactylospongia metachromia 和 Dactylospongia elegans 进行了研究,重点研究了ilimaquinone(4)和 5-epi-ilimaquinone (5)之间非对映异构体比例的变化。研究了 100 多个样本,覆盖面积达 4100 平方公里,试图弄清这个有趣的问题。核磁共振似乎是进行相对定量研究的非破坏性、直接的首选技术。研究人员观察到了自然界中独一无二的随机分布,并由此引发了生物合成方面的思考。此外,还对这两种化合物进行了生物学评估,结果显示它们在细胞毒性和诱导细胞凋亡方面存在一定差异。