This work has been digitalized and published in 2013 by Verlag Zeitschrift für Naturforschung in cooperation with the Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Dieses Werk wurde im Jahr 2013 vom Verlag Zeitschrift für Naturforschung in Zusammenarbeit mit der Max-Planck-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Wissenschaften e.V. digitalisiert und unter folgender Lizenz veröffentlicht: Creative Commons Namensnennung 4.0 Lizenz. Chemical Variability of the Volatile Metabolites from the Caribbean Corals of the Genus Gorgonia Vassilios Roussis*3, Constantinos Vagias3, Christina Tsitsimpikoub, and Nina Diamantopoulou30 a School of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmacognosy, University of Athens, Panepistimioupolis Zografou, Athens 15771, Greece. Fax: ++30 1 7274592. E-mail: Roussis@pharm.uoa.gr b Doping Control Laboratory of Athens, Olympic Athletic Centre of Athens “Spiros Louis”, Kifissias 37, 15123, Maroussi, Greece c Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Chania, P. O. Box 85, 73100, Chania, Greece * Author for correspondence and reprint requests Z. Naturforsch. 55c, 431-441 (2000); received January 10/February 16, 2000 Gorgonia, Volatile Metabolites, Terpenes The chemical composition of the investigated gorgonians showed a high level of individual variation and the colonies, according to their major contributors, were assigned to 10 distinct chemical profiles, among which A, C, E, and G were the most abundant ones. From the metabolites identified in the present study, either by means of GC/MS or using NMR tech niques after conventional separation procedures, the novel cyclic ether 5,10-epoxymuurolane is found in significant quantities in D and I chemical profiles. Furanotriene, isofuranotriene and furanodiene could be referred as the most common metabolites of the genus, since they are found in 6 out of 10 chemical profiles. Isosericenine is, also, a significant contributor of H and I chemical profiles. A number of sesquiterpene hydrocarbons, such as curzerene, bicyclogermacrene, valencene, ß-bourbonene and ß-elemene, along with the oxygenated ses quiterpenes elemanolide and furoventalene, are present at varying concentrations in the ma jority of the chemical profiles. Metabolites of high discriminant value are: a-himachalene for the K chemical profile, a-santalene and its oxygenated derivatives for the G chemical profile and the three geometrical isomers of germacrone for the F chemical profile. Several chemical profiles showed narrow geographic distribution. Most of the chemical profiles are located in the north, while F inhabits mainly southern sites and the others are equally distributed. Finally, 91% of the chemical profiles of the gorgonian colonies appeared to grow in all depths, while 9% did not inhabit deep-water environments. Most chemical profiles are less frequent at higher water depths with the exception of chemical profiles A and C. Introduction In the framework of our chemical and biological investigations on the volatile metabolites of ma rine and terrestrial organisms (Mihopoulos et al., 1999; Roussis et al., 1999a; Roussis et al., 1999b), we were recently able to collect and study several specimens of the genus Gorgonia. The octocoral fauna of the West Indies is unique in its profusion and conspicuousness of gorgonian corals. Extensions of the West Indian region reach into the Gulf of Mexico, all the Antilles, the Baha mas, the Florida Keys, the Bermudas, the Islands of the Caribbean and south along the Northeast coast of South America to the reefs of Brazil. Gor gonian octocorals represent, as estimated, 38% of the known fauna (Bayer, 1961; Cairns, 1977). Six species have been documented to be found along the West Indian Region (Rodriguez, 1995). How- ever, within the limits of the Bahamian islands may occur only three: Gorgonia ventalina, G. fla- bellum, and G. mariae (Human, 1994). Despite the abundant distribution of this inter esting group of colonial marine invertebrates, only a few reports providing new insights into the sys- tematics, ecology and evolution of these organ isms, have appeared (Preston, 1975; Paul, 1994). Chemical systematics of several Gorgonaceae members established on terpenoid profiles have facilitated evolution studies of these organisms (Coll, 1992). Nineteen species of gorgonians, ana lysed in previous projects, produced cladograms that agree for the most part with classical system atics yielding in addition several new insights into 0939-5075/2000/0500-0431 $ 06.00 © 2000 Verlag der Zeitschrift für Naturforschung, Tübingen •www.znaturforsch.com • D