Plastoquinones from Sargassum yezoense; chemical structures and effects on the activation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma

Four new plastoquinones, together with two known compounds, sargahydroquinoic acid and sargaquinoic acid, were isolated from the brown alga, Sargassum yezoense collected from the eastern coast of Korea. The structures of these compounds were elucidated based on spectroscopic analyses including NMR and MS. Their structures designated as meroterphenol A (1), B (2), C (3) and D (4) were characterized by a 6-methyl-1,4-benzohydroquinone moiety with an oxygenated diterpenoic acid chain. Meroterphenols A-D showed potent activation effects on peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ).