Two new cytotoxic disulfated holostane glycosides from the sea cucumber Pentacta quadrangularis

Two new disulfated triterpene glycosides, pentactasides B and C (1 and 2, resp.), were isolated from the sea cucumber Pentacta quadrangularis collected from the South China Sea. Their structures were elucidated by extensive spectral analysis (2D-NMR and MS) and chemical methods. The compounds 1 and 2 possess the same tetrasaccharide moieties with two sulfated groups, but are different in the side chains of the triterpene aglycone. Pentactasides B and C (1 and 2, resp.) showed significant cytotoxicities (IC(50) 0.09-2.30 microM) against different human tumor cell lines.