Xiuping Lin

Chemical Constituents and Bioactivities of Starfish

Starfish have been the research topic in many chemical and pharmacological laboratories due to their complex secondary metabolites and diverse bioactivities. The aim of this review is to provide an up‐to‐date review on the chemistry and bioactivity of compounds isolated from all kinds of starfish to illustrate the chemodiversity and biological significance of these constituents, along with their geographical distribution where it is discernible.

New phenyl derivatives from endophytic fungus Aspergillus flavipes AIL8 derived of mangrove plant Acanthus ilicifolius

Two new aromatic butyrolactones, flavipesins A (1) and B (2), two new natural products (3 and 4), and a known phenyl dioxolanone (5) were isolated from marine-derived endophytic fungus Aspergillus flavipes. The structures of compounds 1-5 were elucidated by 1D- and 2D-NMR and MS analysis, the absolute configurations were assigned by optical rotation and CD data, and the stereochemistry of 1 was determined by X-ray crystallography analysis. 1 demonstrated lower MIC values against Staphylococcus aureus (8.0 μg/mL) and Bacillus subtillis (0.25 μg/mL). 1 also showed the unique antibiofilm activity of penetration through the biofilm matrix and kills live bacteria inside mature S. aureus biofilm.

Cembrane Diterpenes Chemistry and Biological Properties

Cembrane-type diterpenoids are a large and structurally varied group of natural products isolated from both terrestrial and marine organisms. The present paper reviews all the metabolites of cembrane diterpenes, reported up to 2010. The natural products discussed in this review can be divided into several different structural families featuring a variety of ring sizes and oxidation patterns. The currently known biological activities will be presented as well.

Marine Natural Products with Anti-HIV Activities in the Last Decade

Marine organisms have been proven to be excellent sources of biologically active compounds against HIV. This review gives an overview of 132 natural products from marine sources obtained during the last decade (2002-2011), which exhibit anti-HIV activity toward different biological targets. Sponges contribute more than half of all anti-HIV natural products from marine organisms, mainly as alkaloids and cyclic depsipeptides. In addition, some macromolecules are considered as potential anti-HIV agents, including lectins from algae and marine invertebrates, as well as sulfated polysaccharides from algae. In the reviewed marine natural products, many active ingredients act as HIV entry inhibitors, one class of new anti-HIV agents, and may be regarded as potential candidates for the development of novel anti-HIV agents. The other features of development in the marine original anti-HIV natural products in this ten years are also discussed.

A New Cytotoxic Sesquiterpene Quinone Produced by Penicillium sp F00120 Isolated from a Deep Sea Sediment Sample

A new fungal strain, displaying strong toxic activity against brine shrimp larvae, was isolated from a deep sea sediment sample collected at a depth of 1300 m. The strain, designated as F00120, was identified as a member of the genus Penicillium on the basis of morphology and ITS sequence analysis. One new sesquiterpene quinone, named penicilliumin A (1), along with two known compounds ergosterol (2) and ergosterol peroxide (3), were isolated and purified from the cultures of F00120 by silica gel column, Sephadex LH-20 column, and preparative thin layer chromatography. Their structures were elucidated by detailed nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and mass spectroscopic (MS) analysis as well as comparison with literature data. The new compound penicilliumin A inhibited in vitro proliferation of mouse melanoma (B16), human melanoma (A375), and human cervical carcinoma (Hela) cell lines moderately.

Arthpyrones A–C, Pyridone Alkaloids from a Sponge-Derived Fungus Arthrinium arundinis ZSDS1-F3

Three new 4-hydroxy-2-pyridone alkaloids, arthpyrones A-C (1-3), were isolated from the sponge-derived fungus Arthrinium arundinis ZSDS1-F3. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic analysis, CD spectra, quantum chemical calculation, and X-ray single-crystal diffraction analysis. Compounds 1 and 2 possessed a 2-pyridone core featured with a decalin moiety linked via a carboxide bridge bearing a novel oxabicyclo[3.3.1]nonane ring system rarely discovered in nature. A possible biosynthetic pathway for them was proposed.

Cytotoxic and antiviral nitrobenzoyl sesquiterpenoids from the marine-derived fungus Aspergillus ochraceus Jcma1F17

Nitrobenzoyl sesquiterpenoids are rare in natural sources, and fungi Aspergillus species are the only sources of them. A new nitrobenzoyl sesquiterpenoid, 6β,9α-dihydroxy-14-p-nitrobenzoylcinnamolide (1), and a known analogue, insulicolide A (2), were isolated from extracts of the culture of marine-derived fungus Aspergillus ochraceus Jcma1F17, which was identified by morphological and ITS phylogenetic analyses. The structures were determined by NMR, MS, CD, and optical rotation analyses. Both nitrobenzoyl sesquiterpenoids displayed significant cytotoxicities against 10 cancer cell lines, and the new one (1) also showed antiviral activities against H3N2 and EV71. This is the first time that nitrobenzoyl sesquiterpenoids from A. ochraceus have been reported.

New prenylxanthones from the deep-sea derived fungus Emericella sp. SCSIO 05240.

Four new prenylxanthones, emerixanthones A–D (1–4), together with six known analogues (5–10), were isolated from the culture of the deep-sea sediment derived fungus Emericella sp. SCSIO 05240, which was identified on the basis of morphology and ITS sequence analysis. The newstructures were determined by NMR (1H, 13C NMR, HSQC, HMBC, and 1H-1H COSY), MS, CD, and optical rotation analysis. The absolute configuration of prenylxanthone skeleton was also confirmed by the X-ray crystallographic analysis. Compounds 1 and 3 showed weak antibacterial activities, and 4 displayed mild antifungal activities against agricultural pathogens.

Nutritional and Chemical Composition and Antiviral Activity of Cultivated Seaweed Sargassum naozhouense Tseng et Lu

Sargassum naozhouense is a brown seaweed used in folk medicine and applied for thousands of years in Zhanjiang, Guangdong province, China. This study is the first time to investigate its chemical composition and antiviral activity. On the dry weight basis, this seaweed was constituted of ca. 35.18% ash, 11.20% protein, 1.06% lipid and 47.73% total carbohydrate, and the main carbohydrate was water-soluble polysaccharide. The protein analysis indicated the presence of essential amino acids, which accounted for 36.35% of the protein. The most abundant fatty acids were C14:0, C16:0, C18:1 and C20:4. The ash fraction analysis indicated that essential minerals and trace elements, such as Fe, Zn and Cu, were present in the seaweed. IR analysis revealed that polysaccharides from cultivated S. naozhouense may be alginates and fucoidan. The polysaccharides possessed strong antiviral activity against HSV-1 in vitro with EC50 of 8.92 μg/mL. These results demonstrated cultivated S. naozhouense has a potential for its use in functional foods and antiviral new drugs.

Chrysamides A–C, Three Dimeric Nitrophenyl trans-Epoxyamides Produced by the Deep-Sea-Derived Fungus Penicillium chrysogenum SCSIO41001

Three dimeric nitrophenyl trans-epoxyamides, chrysamides A-C (1-3), were obtained from the deep-sea-derived fungus Penicillium chrysogenum SCSIO41001. Their structures were characterized by spectroscopic analysis, electronic circular dichroism computations, and X-ray single-crystal diffraction analysis. Notably, compound 1 possesses a novel centrosymmetric dimer skeleton featuring an unprecedented 7-oxa-2,5-diazabicyclo[2.2.1]heptane ring system, which represents the first example of dimeric nitrophenyl trans-epoxyamide in nature. Compound 3 suppresses the production of proinflammatory cytokine interleukin-17. A possible biosynthetic pathway of 1-3 was proposed.