Raha S. Orfali

Metabolites from the Fungal Endophyte Aspergillus austroafricanus in Axenic Culture and in Fungal–Bacterial Mixed Cultures

The endophytic fungus Aspergillus austroafricanus isolated from leaves of the aquatic plant Eichhornia crassipes was fermented axenically on solid rice medium as well as in mixed cultures with Bacillus subtilis or with Streptomyces lividans. Chromatographic analysis of EtOAc extract of axenic cultures afforded two new metabolites, namely, the xanthone dimer austradixanthone (1) and the sesquiterpene (+)-austrosene (2), along with five known compounds (3-7). Austradixanthone (1) represents the first highly oxygenated heterodimeric xanthone derivative. When A. austroafricanus was grown in mixed cultures with B. subtilis or with S. lividans, several diphenyl ethers (8-11) including the new austramide (8) were induced up to 29-fold. The structures of new compounds were unambiguously elucidated using 1D- and 2D-NMR spectroscopy, HRESIMS, and chemical derivatization. Compound 7 exhibited weak cytotoxicity against the murine lymphoma L5178Y cell line (EC50 is 12.6 μM). In addition, compounds 9 and 10, which were enhanced in mixed fungal/bacterial cultures, proved to be active against Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 700699) with minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of 25 μM each (6.6 μg/mL), whereas compound 11 revealed moderate antibacterial activity against B. subtilis 168 trpC2 with an MIC value of 34.8 μM (8 μg/mL).

OSMAC approach leads to new fusarielin metabolites from Fusarium tricinctum

Using the OSMAC (One Strain MAny Compounds) approach, the fungal endophyte Fusarium tricinctum was cultivated on fruit and vegetable juice-supplemented solid rice media. This led to an up to 80-fold increase in the accumulation of the new natural product fusarielin J (1), as well as to the induction of two new natural products fusarielin K (2) and fusarielin L (3) and the known derivatives fusarielins A (4) and B (5). Compounds 2–5 were not detected when the fungus was grown on rice media lacking either fruit or vegetable juice. The highest increase in the accumulation of compound 1 was observed in the presence of apple and carrot juice, whereas the stimulating effect was weaker for banana juice. Compound 1 exhibited cytotoxicity against the human ovarian cancer cell line A2780, with an IC50 value of 12.5 μM.

New Fusaric Acid Derivatives from the Endophytic Fungus Fusarium oxysporum and Their Phytotoxicity to Barley Leaves

Chemical investigation of the endophytic fungus Fusarium oxysporum isolated from fruits of Drepanocarpus lunatus afforded eight new fusaric acid derivatives, fusaricates A-G, 1-7, and 10-hydroxy-11-chlorofusaric acid, 8, along with four known compounds. Their structures were elucidated by one- and two-dimensional NMR as well as MS data and by comparison with the literature. The absolute configurations of fusaricates C-E, 3-5, were determined using chiral GC-MS. Fusaricates A-G, 1-7, represent the first examples of fusaric acid linked to a polyalcohol moiety via an ester bond. All isolated fusaric acid derivatives 1-8 showed significant phytotoxicity to leaves of barley.

3-O-trans-Caffeoylisomyricadiol: A New Triterpenoid from Tamarix nilotica Growing in Saudi Arabia

A detailed chemical study of the aerial parts of Tamarix nilotica (Tamaricaceae) from Saudi Arabia led to the isolation of a new pentacyclic triterpenoid, 3-O-trans-caffeoylisomyricadiol, in addition to nine known compounds. The structures of all isolated compounds were unambiguously elucidated by 1D, 2D NMR, and mass spectrometry. In the radical scavenging (DPPH) assay, 3-O-trans-caffeoylisomyricadiol exhibited potent antioxidant activity with an IC50 value of 3.56 μM, while that for quercetin (standard antioxidant) was 5.72 μM

Targeted solid phase fermentation of the soil dwelling fungus Gymnascella dankaliensis yields new brominated tyrosine-derived alkaloids

Seven new brominated tyrosine-derived alkaloids, gymnastatins T–Y (1–6) and dankastatin D (7), together with three known likewise brominated analogues gymnastatins I–K (8–10) were isolated from the soil fungus Gymnascella dankaliensis through fermentation on solid rice medium following addition of NaBr. None of these compounds were detected when the fungus was cultured on rice that either lacked NaBr or that contained NaCl instead, indicating a remarkable plasticity of the fungal secondary metabolism. All structures were elucidated on the basis of one and two dimensional NMR spectroscopic analyses and MS data. The absolute configuration of the new gymnastatin T (1) was determined by X-ray crystallographic data. All isolated alkaloids showed potent to moderate cytotoxicity against the L5178Y mouse lymphoma cell line with IC50 values ranging from 0.078 to 14.1 μM.

Cladosporinone, a new viriditoxin derivative from the hypersaline lake derived fungus Cladosporium cladosporioides

A new cytotoxic viriditoxin derivative, cladosporinone (1), along with the known viriditoxin (2) and two viriditoxin derivatives (3 and 4) were obtained from the fungus Cladosporium cladosporioides isolated from the sediment of a hypersaline lake in Egypt. The structure of the new compound (1) was determined by 1D and 2D NMR measurements as well as by high-resolution ESIMS and electronic circular dichroism spectroscopy. All isolated compounds were studied for their cytotoxicity against the murine lymphoma cell line L5187Y and for their antibiotic activity against several pathogenic bacteria. Viriditoxin (2) was the most active compound in both bioassays. Compound 1 also exhibited strong cytotoxicity against the murine lymphoma cell line L5187Y with an IC50 value of 0.88 μm, whereas its antibiotic activity was weak.

Substituted L-tryptophan-L-phenyllactic acid conjugates produced by an endophytic fungus Aspergillus aculeatus using an OSMAC approach

The endophytic fungus Aspergillus aculeatus isolated from leaves of the papaya plant Carica papaya was fermented on solid rice medium, yielding a new L-tryptophan-L-phenyllactic acid conjugate (1) and thirteen known compounds (11, 14–25). In addition, an OSMAC approach was employed by adding eight different sodium or ammonium salts to the rice medium. Addition of 3.5% NaNO3 caused a significant change of the metabolite pattern of the fungus as indicated by HPLC analysis. Subsequent isolation yielded several new substituted L-tryptophan-L-phenyllactic acid conjugates (1–10) in addition to three known compounds (11–13), among which compounds 2–10, 12–13 were not detected in the rice control culture. All structures were unambiguously elucidated by one and two dimensional NMR spectroscopy and by mass spectrometry. The absolute configuration of the new compounds was determined by Marfeys reaction and X-ray single crystal diffraction. Compounds 19–22 showed cytotoxicity against the L5178Y mouse lymphoma cell line with IC50 values of 3.4, 1.4, 7.3 and 23.7 μM, respectively.

Structure Elucidation of Antibiotics by NMR Spectroscopy

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is a powerful tool for the structure elucidation of antibiotics in solution. Over the past 30 years there have been numerous publications describing the use of NMR to characterize naturally derived or synthetic antibiotics. A large number of one-dimensional (1D) and two-dimensional (2D) NMR methods are available today and the list continues to expand. In this chapter, we will consider the key NMR experiments that provide useful information for compound structure elucidation.

Lactones from the Sponge-Derived Fungus Talaromyces rugulosus

The marine-derived fungus Talaromyces rugulosus isolated from the Mediterranean sponge Axinella cannabina and cultured on solid rice medium yielded seventeen lactone derivatives including five butenolides (1–5), seven (3S)-resorcylide derivatives (6–12), two butenolide-resorcylide dimers (13 and 14), and three dihydroisocoumarins (15–17). Among them, fourteen compounds (1–3, 6–16) are new natural products. The structures of the isolated compounds were elucidated by 1D and 2D NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) spectroscopy as well as by ESI-HRMS (ElectroSpray Ionization-High Resolution Mass Spectrometry). TDDFT-ECD (Time-Dependent Density Functional Theory-Electronic Circular Dichroism) calculations were performed to determine the absolute configurations of chiral compounds. The butenolide-resorcylide dimers talarodilactones A and B (13 and 14) exhibited potent cytotoxicity against the L5178Y murine lymphoma cell line with IC50 values of 3.9 and 1.3 µM, respectively.

L-Proline-Catalyzed Synthesis of Phthalimide Derivatives and Evaluation of Their Antioxidant, Anti-Inflammatory, and Lipoxygenase Inhibition Activities

A study was planned to synthesize the phthalimide derivatives as phthalimides have versatile biological activities. To synthesize the phthalimide derivatives, initially the reaction was optimized with various catalysts, and L-proline was found to be the best catalyst as it provided excellent yield. A series of phthalimide derivatives was synthesized by facile one-top reaction of phthalic acid with aryl amines under mild reaction conditions in the presence of L-proline as catalyst. Products were obtained in excellent yields and structurally characterized by 1H, 13C NMR, and mass spectral data. Products 1–7 were evaluated for antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and lipoxygenase enzyme inhibition activities. Compounds 1 and 4 showed potent antioxidant activity under DPPH with IC50 values 27.3 and 25.0 μM when compared with the standard BHA (IC50 = 44.2 μM), respectively. Compounds 1 and 4 further showed strong lipoxygenase inhibition activity with IC50 values 21.34 and 20.45 μM when compared with standard baicalein (IC50 = 22.60 μM), respectively. Compound 2 was found to be promising and about equal to the used standard aspirin in the inhibition of bovine serum albumin denaturation, while other compounds showed weak-to-moderate % inhibition.