Palmyrolide A, an unusually stabilized neuroactive macrolide from Palmyra Atoll cyanobacteria

Palmyrolide A (1) is a new neuroactive macrolide isolated from a marine cyanobacterial assemblage composed of Leptolyngbya cf. and Oscillatoria spp. collected from Palmyra Atoll. It features a rare N-methyl enamide and an intriguing t-butyl branch; the latter renders the adjacent lactone ester bond resistant to hydrolysis. Consistent with its significant suppression of calcium influx in cerebrocortical neurons (IC(50) = 3.70 μM), palmyrolide A (1) showed a relatively potent sodium channel blocking activity in neuro-2a cells (IC(50) = 5.2 μM), without appreciable cytotoxicity.