RESUMO
Objective: To investigate the chemical constituents of South China Sea soft coral Sinularia sp. Methods: Compounds were isolated and purified by column chromatography on silica gel and Sephadex LH-20. Their structures were identified on the basis of mass (MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectral data. Results: Eleven compounds were isolated and identified as cholesterol (1), 3β-hydroxycholest-5-en-7-one (2), 3β-hydroxyergosta-5,24(28)-dien-7-one (3), campesterol (4), 24-methylene- cholesterol (5), ergosterol peroxide (6), axinysterol (7), ergosterol (8), (3β,4α,5α,8β)-4-methylergost-24 (28)-ene-3,8-diol (9), arachidonic acid (10), and methyl arachidonate (11). Conclusion: Compounds 1-9 belong to sterols with three different types, while compounds 10 and 11 are unsaturated lipids. Moreover, compounds 7 and 11 are obtained from the soft corals of genus Sinularia sp. for the first time.