Minjuan Xu

Asperelines A-F, peptaibols from the marine-derived fungus Trichoderma asperellum.

Fermentation of the marine-derived fungus Trichoderma asperellum, collected from the sediment of the Antarctic Penguin Island, resulted in the isolation of six new peptaibols named asperelines A-F (1-6), which are characterized by an acetylated N-terminus and a C-terminus containing an uncommon prolinol residue. Structures were determined by extensive 1D and 2D NMR ((1)H-(1)H COSY, HMQC, HMBC, NOESY) spectroscopic data analysis combined with ESIMS/MS fragmentation. The absolute configurations of the amino acid residues possessing a chiral alpha-carbon and of the prolinol residue were determined to be L and S, respectively, using a new method of (1)H NMR spectroscopic comparison of complexes formed between the chiral reagent Ru(D(4)-Por*)CO and amino acids derived from the peptaibols with those formed with reference standards.

p-Aminoacetophenonic Acids Produced by a Mangrove Endophyte Streptomyces sp. (strain HK10552)

Four new p-aminoacetophenonic acids, named (2E)-11-(4′-aminophenyl)-5,9-dihydroxy-4,6,8-trimethyl-11-oxo-undec-2-enoic acid (1), 9-(4′-aminophenyl)-3,7-dihydroxy-2,4,6-trimethyl-9-oxo-nonoic acid (2), (2E)-11-(4′-aminophenyl)-5,9-O-cyclo-4,6,8-trimethyl-11-oxo-undec-2-enoic acid (3) and 9-(4′-aminophenyl)-3,7-O-cyclo-2,4,6-trimethyl-9-oxo-nonoic acid (4), were isolated from an endophyte Streptomyces sp. (strain HK10552) of the mangrove plant Aegiceras corniculatum. The structures of 1–4 were elucidated by using spectroscopic analyses. The relative stereoconfigurations of compounds 3 and 4 were determined by NOESY experiments. In the bioassay test, 1–4 showed no cytotoxicity against the Hela cell lines. Compound 4 also showed no inhibitory bioactivity on HCV protease and SecA ATPase and wasn’t active against VSVG/HIV-luc pseudotyping virus.

New A-nor steroids and their antifouling activity from the Chinese marine sponge Acanthella cavernosa

A chemical examination of the Chinese sponge Acanthella cavernosa resulted in the isolation of three new A-ring contracted steroids, the ethyl esters of 2beta-hydroxy-4,7-diketo-A-norcholest-5-en-2-oic acid (1), 24S-ethyl-2beta-hydroxy-4,7-diketo-A-norcholest-5-en-2-oic acid (2), and 2beta-hydroxy-4,7-diketo-24R-methyl-A-norcholest-5,22(E)-dien-2-oic acid (3), along with four other known steroids (4-7). The structures were determined on the basis of extensive spectroscopic analysis. Compounds 1-3 showed antifouling activity toward the settlement inhibition of Balanus albicostatus with the EC(50) values of 8.2, 23.5, 31.6 microg/mL, respectively.

A New 24-membered Lactone and a New Polyene δ-Lactone from the Marine Bacterium Bacillus marinus

A new 24-membered macrolide macrolactin T (1), and a new polyene δ-lactone macrolactin U (2), along with macrolactins A, B, D, O, and S, were isolated from the cultured broth of the bacterium Bacillus marinus, which was isolated from Suaeda salsa collected in the coastline of Bohai Sea of China. The structures of 1 and 2 were elucidated on the basis of extensive spectroscopic data analyses. The inhibitory activity of macrolactins T, B and D against fungi Pyricularia oryzae and Alternaria solani, and bacteria Staphylococcus aureus is reported.

Rhabdastrellins A−F, Isomalabaricane Triterpenes from the Marine Sponge Rhabdastrella aff. distincta

Chemical examination of the marine sponge Rhabdastrella aff. distincta resulted in the isolation of six new isomalabaricane triterpenes, rhabdastrellins A-F (1-6), which were present as minor components, along with stellettins L and M. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of extensive spectroscopic data analyses and comparison with spectroscopic data of known analogues. The cytotoxicity of compounds 1-6 against a small panel of human tumor cell lines was also evaluated.