An improved source of bryostatin 10, Bugula neritina from the Gulf of Aomori, Japan

Bryostatins have been isolated from diverse Japanese coastal specimens of Bugula neritina guided by inhibitory activity against fertilized sea urchin egg cell division. B. neritina from the Gulf of Aomori, Japan, has been found to contain bryostatin 10 [1b] in high yield (10(-3)%) for this class of compounds. The 1H- and 13C-nmr signals of bryostatin 10 [1b] were reassigned by 2D nmr techniques. The conformation of bryostatin 10 [1b] in solution was revealed by nmr studies. This compound also exhibited activity in a steroidogenesis assay by increasing the production of adrenocortical hormones nearly twofold.