Isolation and X-ray structure of deoxycholic acid from the sponge Ircinia sp.

Ethyl acetate extract of the sponge Ircinia sp., collected by SCUBA divers off the coast of southern India, contained a cholest-based sterol of insignificant antimicrobial activity, with one carboxylic acid side chain (3alpha, 7beta-dihydroxy-5beta-cholan-24-oic acid, DCA). The structure of the compound was determined by spectroscopic data and single crystal X-ray diffraction studies. DCA crystallizes in the tetragonal space group P4(1)2(1)2, chirality documented by solution optical rotation [alpha]D = +67.4 degrees (c 0.16, CHCl3).