Novel bioactive bromopyrrole alkaloids from the Mediterranean sponge Axinella verrucosa

Abstract The Mediterranean sponge Axinella verrucosa has been investigated for its alkaloid composition and has been found to produce a complex mixture of bromopyrrole alkaloids. Along with the previously isolated compounds 5 – 18 , four novel alkaloids of this class, compounds 1 – 4 , have been isolated, and their structures established through spectroscopic methods. Compounds 1 – 4 were found to display neuroprotective activity against the agonists serotonin and glutamate in vitro.