New Bergamotane Sesquiterpenoids from the Plant Endophytic Fungus Paraconiothyrium brasiliense.

Brasilamides K-N (1-4), four new bergamotane sesquiterpenoids; with 4-oxatricyclo (3.3.1.0 (2,7))nonane (1)and 9-oxatricyclo(4.3.0.0 (4,7))nonane (2-4) skeletons; were isolated from the scale-up fermentation cultures of the plant endophytic fungus Paraconiothynium brasiliense Verkley. The previously identified sesquiterpenoids brasilamides A and C (5 and 6) were also reisolated in the current work. The structures of 1-4 were elucidated primarily by interpretation of NMR spectroscopic data. The absolute configurations of 1-3 were deduced by analogy to the co-isolated metabolites 5 and 6; whereas that of C-12 in 4 was assigned using the modified Mosher method. The cytotoxicity of all compounds against a panel of eight human tumor cell lines were assayed.

Antimicrobial and allelopathic metabolites produced by Penicillium brasilianum.

Six known compounds, isoroquefortine C (1), griseofulvin (2), ergosterol peroxide (3), 3ß-hydroxy-(22E,24R)-ergosta-5,8,22-trien-7-one (4), cerevisterol (5) and (22E,24R)-6ß-methoxyergosta-7,22-diene-3ß,5α-diol (6), were produced by the fungus Penicillium brasilianum, and their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic methods. This is the first report on isoroquefortine C as naturally occurring compound. Their bioactivities against five phytopathogenic fungi (Gibeberalla saubinetti, Fusarium solani, Botrytis cinerea, Colletotrichum gloeosporioides and Alternaria solani) and four pathogenic bacteria (Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, Staphyloccocus aureus and Bacillus cereus), as well as allelopathic activities on Raphanus sativus were tested. Compound 1 exhibited a remarkable antifungal activity with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 12.5 µM against C. gloeosporioides, in comparison with positive control hymexazol (MIC 25 µM). Compound 2 displayed strong inhibitory effects on the growth of A. solani and S. aureus with MIC of 3.13 µM for each. Compounds 2 and 3 displayed a significant growth-inhibition activity on R. sativus.

Isolation, structure elucidation, and antibacterial activity of methiosetin, a tetramic acid from a tropical sooty mold (Capnodium sp.).

Drug-resistant bacteria continue to make many existing antibiotic classes ineffective. In order to avoid a future epidemic from drug-resistant bacterial infections, new antibiotics with new modes of action are needed. In an antibiotic screening program for new drug leads with new modes of action using antisense Staphylococcus aureus Fitness Test screening, we discovered a new tetramic acid, methiosetin, from a tropical sooty mold, Capnodium sp. The fungus also produced epicorazine A, a known antibiotic. The structure and relative configuration of methiosetin was elucidated by 2D NMR and ESIMS techniques. Methiosetin and epicorazine A showed weak to modest antibacterial activity against S. aureus and Haemophilus influenzae. The isolation, structure elucidation, and antibacterial activity of both compounds are described.

New brasiliamide congeners, brasiliamides C, D and E, from Penicillium brasilianum Batista JV-379.

Three new brasiliamide congeners, brasiliamides C, D and E, were isolated from okara fermented with Penicillium brasilianum Batista JV-379. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of spectral data and chemical evidence. NMR spectra of these brasiliamides exhibited a mixture of four or two conformers due to the restricted rotation of an amide bond in a solution. The (1)H- and (13)C-NMR spectral data were analyzed for a major rotamer at an appropriate temperature, since the signals were broadened at room temperature. Both brasiliamides C and D showed convulsive activity against silkworms with an ED(50) value of 400 microg/g of diet, whereas brasiliamide E showed less activity than the others.

New and known diketopiperazines from the Caribbean sponge, Calyx cf. podatypa.

The cyanobacteria-containing Caribbean sponge, Calyx cf. podatypa, was collected from three sites in the Bahamas. In each of the three collections, a polar solvent partition fraction contained six known compounds including five diketopiperazines [1-4,6] and phenylacetic acid, along with a new diketopiperazine, cyclo-(4-methyl-R-proline-S-norvaline) [5]. Interestingly, all six diketopiperazines are proline-derived cyclic dipeptides. This is the first example for this class of peptide derivative to be isolated from a Calyx sponge. Parallel studies of one of the sponge collections in which the ectosome (cyanobacteria-rich) was separated from the endosome (no cyanobacteria) revealed no significant differences in their content of diketopiperazines.