New cembranoid diterpene from the South China Sea soft coral Sarcophyton sp

One new oxygenated cembranoid diterpene, named sarcophytol W (1), along with six known analogues (2-7) were isolated from a soft coral Sarcophyton sp. collected from the South China Sea. Their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic analyses and by comparison with previously reported data. The absolute configuration of 1was assigned on the basis of the absolute configuration of the related congener 2, which was determined by application of the modified Mosher's method. All the compounds were evaluated for their antibacterial and antifouling activities.