Eight new metabolites (1-5 and 7-9) and one known compound were isolated from the acetone/methylene chloride (1:1)extracts of the Formosan soft coral Cespitularia hypotenta-culata. These compounds can be divided into five groups: cespitularin I (1), having the verticillane skeleton, cespitularin J (2), that possesses the norverticillane skeleton, cespitularin K (3)¡B6-acetoxycespitularin F (4) and cespitularin L (5), possessing the cespitularane skeleton, (24S)-3£],11-dihydroxy-5£],6£]-epoxy-24-methyl-9,11-secocholestan-9-one (6), 3£],11-dihydroxy-5£],6£]-epoxy-9,11-secocholestan-9-one (7), and 3£]-hydroxy-5£],6£]-epoxy-9-oxo-9,11-secogorgo-stan-11-ol (8) are secosterols, and xenia diterpene, cespolide A (9). All of these structures were elucidated by extensive spectral analysis, and their cytotoxicity against selected cancer cells was measured in vitro.

Five new diterpenes, GN67-12-5-4-2 (1)¡BGN67-12-6-4-2 (2)¡BGN67-20-4-3 (3)¡BGN67-25-6-1 (4)¡BGN67-12-5-12-1 (5) and four known terpenoides, GN67-12-5-12 (6)¡BGN67-28-5-3-3 (7)¡BGN67-28-5-4 (8)¡BGN67-23-4 (9) were isolated from the methylene chloride solubles of the Formosan soft coral Cespitularia hypotentaculata. Three new cytotoxic sesquiterpenes, GN78-14-3a-B (10)¡BGN78-22-8I-B (11)¡BGN78-17-3a-B (12) and five known terpenoides, GN78-12-5-B-G (13)¡BGN78-14-3a-N (14)¡BGN78-22-8-W (15)¡BGN78-22-8-H (16)¡BGN78-24-5-Q (17) were isolated from the Formosan soft coral Paralemnalia thyrsodes Three known compounds, GN72-9-8-J (18)¡BGN72-7-4-2 (19)¡BGN72-19-6-8-E (20) were isolated from the methylene chloride solubles of the Formosan soft coral Dendronephthya divaricata The structure of 4 was further confirmed by X-ray crystallographic analysis and the configuration of the hydroxyl at C-6 of 5 was further determined by Mosher¡¦s reactions. It was suggested that the C-6 has the S configuration. The inhibition of these metabolites toward the pro-inflammatory proteins (iNOS and COX-2) expression was also investigated. Compound 17 showed more specific inhibition against the up-regulation of the pro-inflammatory iNOS protein of LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophage cells.