Sarcophine is a cembranoid marine natural product that is reposted to possess cancer chemopreventive properties.

It was found to be an effective inhibitor of JB6 cell transformation. Sarcophine is acetylcholine esterase and ATPase inhibitor.

From the soft bodied coral Sarcophytum glaucum a crystalline compound-sarcophine, which is believed to be one of the repellents protecting the coral against predators, was isolated. 

The recent study showed sarcophine-diol's possible use in prevention of skin cancer to consider its potential as a tool in therapies to actually treat skin cancer. Sarcophine-diol induced apoptosis, or programmed cell death in cancer cells in this study. But sarcophine-diol didn't induce what scientists call necrosis, or the premature death of healthy cells. The experiment also looke at whether sarcophine-diol treatments could increase what is called DNA fragmentation, considered a biochemical hallmark of apoptosis.

Product References

• Sarcophine, a new epoxy cembranolide from marine origin, J. Bernstein, et al., Tetrahedron, vol. 30, issue 16 (1974)

• Sarcophine-diol, a Chemopreventive agent of skin cancer, inhibits cell growth and induces apoptosis through extrinsic pathway in human epidermoid carcinoma A431 cells, Xiaoying Zhang, et al, Transl Oncol. 2(1):21-30 (2009)

Additional Information

Additional Information