Photodamage attenuation effect by a tetraprenyltoluquinol chromane meroterpenoid isolated from Sargassum muticum.

A tetraprenyltoluquinol meroterpenoid with a chromane moiety, obtained as an epimeric mixture at C3, was isolated for the first time from the dichloromethane fraction of a methanolic extract from the brown alga Sargassum muticum. The structure has been established by means of spectral methods including NMR spectroscopy and MS and comparison with reported data. The compound showed photodamage attenuation on irradiated cells with UVA light, presented protection against intracellular ROS generation in a degree comparable to retinoic acid (9.1-20.6%) and did not display toxicity against human dermal fibroblast cells.