Chemical investigation of the anti-inflammatory Chinese folk medicine Calophyllum membranaceum has resulted in the isolation and characterization of three new xanthones (1-3), one new biphenyl C-glycoside (4), and one new phenylethanoid glycoside (5) along with 17 known compounds. Their structures were characterized on the basis of spectroscopic and chemical methods. Two xanthones, 2,6-dihydroxy-1,7-dimethoxyxanthone (1) and 3,4-dihydroxyxanthone, were found to exhibit selective inhibitory activity against cyclooxygenase-2 (IC(50)=2.99 and 1.80 microM) in vitro.

A new sesquiterpene isocyanide, 3-oxo-axisonitrile-3 (1), with a spiro [5,6] decane skeleton (spiroaxane) together with a known related sesquiterpene isonitrile (2), sesquiterpene isothiocyanates (3-8) and two diterpene isonitriles (9, 10) have been isolated from the Chinese marine sponge Acanthella sp. The structure of 1 has been determined on the basis of spectroscopic analysis.