Isolation and total synthesis of two novel metabolites from the fissurellid mollusc Scutus antipodes

There is almost no information on natural products from gastropods in the order Vetigastropoda and nothing at all for the superfamily Fissurellidae (keyhole and slit limpets), which are only partially protected from predation by their shell. Extraction of the Australian fissurellid Scutus antipodes yielded two new compounds, scutinin A [D-sorbityl hexakis(p-hydroxybenzoate)] and scutinin B [2-ethylhexane-1,3-bis(p-hydroxybenzoate)] that were identified by spectroscopic analysis and their structures confirmed by total synthesis. The compounds were found to have antimicrobial activity but no fish antifeedant activity.