Chemical Constituents of the Soft Coral Species of Sarcophyton Genus: A Review

In recent years there has been much interest in the metabolites of marine invertebrates such as soft corals, sponges, sea cucumbers etc. The chemistry and btology of these compounds in general have been reviewed1--8. Soft corals (Phylum : Coelenterata) form a significant group of marine organisms occurring widely in the coral reefs of the world over. Of these, the corals of the genera Sinularia, wbophytum and Sacophyton are the most prolific. A large number of these species have been chemically examined resulting in the accumulation of extensive information. It was felt appropriate to review the chemical constituents of the soft corals on genus basis, which has not been attempted earlier. With this in view the chemical constituents of !>Oft coral species of Smularia genus have earlier been reviewed by us9 . The present review pertains to the chemical constituents of the soft corals of Sarcophyton genus. Nearly 25 species of this genus occurring in different sea waters have been examined chemically so far.