Polyhydroxy Steroids and Saponins from China Sea Starfish Asterina pectinifera and Their Biological Activities

A new polyhydroxy sterol ester, (25S)-5 alpha-cholestane-3 beta,6 alpha,7 alpha,8,15 beta,16 beta-hexahydroxyl-26-O-14'Z-eicosenoate (1), together with seven known steroid derivatives (2-8), were isolated from the EtOH extract of the whole body of China Sea starfish Asterina pectinifera. The structure of 1 was determined by using extensive spectra analysis (IR, 1D and 2D NMR, and MS), chemical degradation, and comparison with the known compound (25S)-5 alpha-cholestane-3 beta 6 alpha,7 alpha,8,15 alpha,16 beta,26-heptol (2). All the isolates were evaluated for their antiviral activity against herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and their cytotoxicity against human liver carcinoma HepG2 cell line in vitro. Compounds 3-6, and 8 exhibited antiviral activity against HSV-1 virus with the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of 0.2, 0.05, 0.2, 0.22, and 0.07 mu(M), respectively. While compounds 4 and 5 exhibited cytotoxicity against HepG2 cells with IC50 values of 0.2 and 1.6 mu(M), respectively.