Search Results (133)

Two new racemic mixtures, including a polyketide, (±)-penilactone F (1), and a butenolide, (±) phenylbutyrolactone IIa (2), were isolated from the mangrove sediment-derived strain Aspergillus spelaeus SCSIO 41433. Additionally, 20 known compounds were isolated, including four penicillin-like compounds (11–14), three alkaloids (15–17), one sesquiterpene (18), and four phenolic acids (19–22). Their structures were elucidated through NMR spectroscopy, HRESIMS, X-ray diffraction, and ECD calculations. In the PDE4 inhibitory activity and anticancer cell activity assays, compounds 2, 3, 5, 8, 9, 11–14, and 16 exhibited weak PDE4 inhibitory activity at a concentration of 10 µM, Compound 11 demonstrated potent inhibitory effects against six cancer cell lines (MDA-MB-231, MDA-MB-435, HCT116, SNB-19, PC3, and A549), with IC₅₀ values ranging from 3.4 to 23.7 µM. Full article

Three new naphthalene–chroman dimer derivatives, daldinaphchromes A–C (1–3), two new chroman derivatives, daldichromes A (5) and B (6), along with five known compounds (4, 7–10) were isolated from the mangrove-derived fungus Daldinia eschscholzii HJX1P2. Their structures and stereochemistries were elucidated through detailed NMR and MS analyses, calculated electronic circular dichroism, and comparison with previously reported data. Compound 1 demonstrated inhibitory effects on nitric oxide (NO) production in LPS-induced RAW 264.7 cells, with an IC₅₀ value of 62.9 µM, and more effectively suppressed the expression of interleukin (IL)-6 than dexamethasone. A further mechanistic study suggested that 1 could prohibit the expression of iNOS in RAW 264.7 cells, and the molecular docking study suggested a possible interaction between 1 and the iNOS protein. Compounds 7 and 8 exhibited moderate to potent DPPH radical scavenging activity, with IC₅₀ values of 117.4 and 46.2 µM, respectively, compared with the positive control ascorbic acid (IC₅₀ = 45.6 µM). Compounds 4 and 10 showed ABTS⁺ radical scavenging activity, with IC₅₀ values of 66.6 and 33.2 µM, respectively, which were equal to or lower than that of the positive control vitamin C (IC₅₀ = 59.7 µM). Compounds 1–3, 7, and 9 showed antibacterial activity against three Staphylococcus aureus strains, with MIC values of 74.4–390.6 μM. Full article

As special condition-derived microorganisms, mangrove endophytic fungi can produce abundant and active secondary metabolites. In this paper, one strain of Dothiorella sp. ZJQQYZ-1 was isolated from Kandelia candel. As a result, six compounds were obtained from Dothiorella sp. ZJQQYZ-1, including three new benzofuran derivatives dothiofurans A-C (1–3), one new sesquiterpene dothiopene A (4), one new steroid phomosterol C (5), and three known analogs phomosterol B (6), phomosterol A (7), and pergillin (8). Their structures were characterized by extensive spectroscopic analysis, electronic circular dichroism (ECD), and ¹³C NMR calculations. The bioactive assay showed that 7 exhibited significant anti-inflammatory activity with an IC₅₀ value of 4.6 μM. Furthermore, 7 effectivity suppressed the protein expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 cells. Full article

Five new metabolites, including three cyclic dipeptide derivatives (1–3) and two new polyketides (10–11), together with nine known ones (4–9 and 12–15), were isolated from the mangrove-sediments-derived fungus Talaromyces sp. SCSIO 41431. Their structures were determined using detailed NMR, MS spectroscopic analyses, and quantum chemical calculations. X-ray single-crystal diffraction analysis of 1 was described. Compounds 13–15 demonstrated activity against Staphylococcus aureus, with MIC values ranging from 25 to 50 µg/mL. Compound 9 showed activity against Escherichia coli, Streptococcus suis, and Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae, with an MIC value of 100 µg/mL. In addition, compounds 1 and 12 showed DPPH radical scavenging activity, with the EC₅₀ of 27.62 and 29.34 µg/mL, compared to the positive control (ascorbic acid, EC₅₀, 12.74 µg/mL). Full article

The search for bioactive compounds for the treatment of several diseases has led to the study of endophytic fungi. Neoplastic diseases are among the most significant health concerns due to their high mortality rate, and there is a dearth of efficacious pharmaceutical agents for the treatment of cancer. Gastric cancer is one of the most aggressive forms of cancer and is among those with the highest mortality rates in Brazil. Accordingly, the objective of this study was to identify compounds with cytotoxic activity from the mangrove-derived endophytic fungus Trichoderma sp. Isolation of the chemical compounds was conducted using chromatographic methods, while structural elucidation was achieved through the application of spectroscopic (NMR and UV) and spectrometric (MS) techniques. The fungus Trichoderma sp. was found to produce five distinct koninginins (A, B, C, E, and J). The organic phases of the extracts and isolated compounds were evaluated for their antimicrobial and cytotoxic potentials, respectively, through microdilution testing and the MTT method. In the cytotoxicity assay, both the AF extract and koninginin A demonstrated favorable outcomes, indicating their potential as promising anticancer therapeutic agents. Full article

Twelve compounds, including four undescribed cytochalasins, xylariachalasins A–D (1–4), four undescribed polyketides (5–8), and four known cytochalasins (9–12), were isolated from the mangrove endophytic fungus Xylaria arbuscula QYF. Their structures and absolute configurations were established by extensive spectroscopic analyses (1D and 2D NMR, HRESIMS), electronic circular dichroism (ECD) calculations, ¹³C NMR calculation and DP4+ analysis, single-crystal X-ray diffraction, and the modified Mosher ester method. Compounds 1 and 2 are rare cytochalasin hydroperoxides. In bioactivity assays, Compound 2 exhibited moderate antimicrobial activities against Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans with MIC values of 12.5 μM for both Compound 10 exhibited significant cytotoxic activity against MDA-MB-435 with an IC₅₀ value of 3.61 ± 1.60 μM. Full article

Four new sesquiterpenoids, talaroterpenes A–D (1–4), were isolated from the mangrove-derived fungus Talaromyces sp. SCSIO 41412. The structures of compounds 1–4 were elucidated through comprehensive NMR and MS spectroscopic analyses. The absolute configurations of 1–4 were assigned based on single-crystal X-ray diffraction and calculated electronic circular dichroism analysis. Talaroterpenes A–D (1–4) were evaluated with their regulatory activities on nuclear receptors in HepG2 cells. Under the concentrations of 200 μM, 1, 3 and 4 exhibited varying degrees of activation on ABCA1 and PPARα, while 4 showed the strongest activities. Furthermore, 4 induced significant alterations in the expression of downstream target genes CLOCK and BMAL1 of RORα, and the in silico molecular docking analysis supported the direct binding interactions of 4 with RORα protein. This study revealed that talaroterpene D (4) was a new potential non-toxic modulator of nuclear receptors. Full article

Two new C₂₃-steroids derivatives, cyclocitrinoic acid A (1) and cyclocitrinoic acid B (2), and a new isocoumarin metabolite, (3R,4S)-6,8-dihydroxy-3,4,5-trimethyl-7-carboxamidelisocoumarin (10), together with 12 known compounds (3–9, 11–15) were isolated from the mangrove-sediment fungus Penicillium sp. SCSIO 41429. The structures of the new compounds were comprehensively characterized by 1D and 2D NMR, HRESIMS and ECD calculation. All isolates were evaluated for pancreatic lipase (PL) inhibitory and antioxidant activities. The biological evaluation results revealed that compounds 2, 14 and 15 displayed weak or moderate inhibition against PL, with IC₅₀ values of 32.77, 5.15 and 2.42 µM, respectively. In addition, compounds 7, 12 and 13 showed radical scavenging activities against DPPH, with IC₅₀ values of 64.70, 48.13, and 75.54 µM, respectively. In addition, molecular docking results indicated that these compounds had potential for PL inhibitory and antioxidant activities, which provided screening candidates for antioxidants and a reduction in obesity. Full article

The cost-effective production of commercially important biopolymers, such as chitosan, has gained momentum in recent decades owing to its versatile material properties. The seasonal variability in the availability of crustacean waste and fish waste, routinely used for chitosan extraction, has triggered a focus on fungal chitosan as a sustainable alternative. This study demonstrates a cost-effective strategy for cultivating an endophytic fungus isolated from Pichavaram mangrove soil in a pineapple peel-based medium for harvesting fungal biomass. Chitosan was extracted using alkali and acid treatment methods from various combinations of media. The highest chitosan yield (139 ± 0.25 mg/L) was obtained from the pineapple peel waste-derived medium supplemented with peptone. The extracted polymer was characterized by FTIR, XRD, DSC, and TGA analysis. The antioxidant activity of the fungal chitosan was evaluated using DPPH assay and showed an IC₅₀ value of 0.22 mg/L. Subsequently, a transparent chitosan film was fabricated using the extracted fungal chitosan, and its biodegradability was assessed using a soil burial test for 50 days. Biodegradation tests revealed that, after 50 days, a degradation rate of 28.92 ± 0.75% (w/w) was recorded. Thus, this study emphasizes a cost-effective strategy for the production of biopolymers with significant antioxidant activity, which may have promising applications in food packaging if additional investigations are carried out in the future. Full article

Three new polyketides, including three ester derivatives (1, 3, and 5) and a new natural product, which was a benzoquinone derivative, embelin A (4), together with nine known ones (2 and 6–13), were isolated from the mangrove-derived fungus Penicillium sp. SCSIO 41411. Their structures were determined by detailed NMR and MS spectroscopic analyses. The X-ray single-crystal diffraction analysis of 4 was described for the first time. Compound 9 displayed obvious inhibition against PDE4 with an inhibitory ratio of 40.78% at 10 μM. Compound 12 showed DPPH radical scavenging activity, with an EC₅₀ of 16.21 µg/mL, compared to the positive control (ascorbic acid, EC₅₀, 11.22 µg/mL). Furthermore, compound 4 exhibited cytotoxicity against PC-3 and LNCaP with IC₅₀ values of 18.69 and 31.62 µM, respectively. Full article

Four new polyketides, namely furantides A–B (1–2), talamin E (3) and arugosinacid A (4), and two known polyketides were obtained from the mangrove-derived fungus Penicillium sp. HDN15-312 using the One Strain Many Compounds (OSMAC) strategy. Their chemical structures, including configurations, were elucidated by detailed analysis of extensive NMR spectra, HRESIMS and ECD. The DPPH radicals scavenging activity of 3, with an IC₅₀ value of 6.79 µM, was better than vitamin C. Full article

Ferroptosis has emerged as a potential mechanism for enhancing the efficacy of chemotherapy in cancer treatment. By suppressing nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), cancer cells may lose their ability to counteract the oxidative stress induced by chemotherapy, thereby becoming more susceptible to ferroptosis. In this study, we investigate the potential of penexanthone A (PXA), a xanthone dimer component derived from the endophytic fungus Diaporthe goulteri, obtained from mangrove plant Acanthus ilicifolius, to enhance the therapeutic effect of cisplatin (CDDP) on colorectal cancer (CRC) by inhibiting Nrf2. The present study reported that PXA significantly improved the ability of CDDP to inhibit the activity of and induce apoptosis in CRC cells. Moreover, PXA was found to increase the level of oxidative stress and DNA damage caused by CDDP. In addition, the overexpression of Nrf2 reversed the DNA damage and ferroptosis induced by the combination of PXA and CDDP. In vivo experiments using zebrafish xenograft models demonstrated that PXA enhanced the therapeutic effect of CDDP on CRC. These studies suggest that PXA enhanced the sensitivity of CRC to CDDP and induce ferroptosis by targeting Nrf2 inhibition, indicating that PXA might serve as a novel anticancer drug in combination chemotherapy. Full article

Co-cultivation is a powerful emerging tool for awakening biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) that remain transcriptionally silent under artificial culture conditions. It has recently been used increasingly extensively to study natural interactions and discover new bioactive metabolites. As a part of our project aiming at the discovery of structurally novel and biologically active natural products from mangrove endophytic fungi, an established co-culture of a strain of Phomopsis asparagi DHS-48 with another Phomopsis genus fungus DHS-11, both endophytes in mangrove Rhizophora mangle, proved to be very efficient to induce the production of new metabolites as well as to increase the yields of respective target metabolites. A detailed chemical investigation of the minor metabolites produced by the co-culture of these two titled fungal strains led to the isolation of six alkaloids (1–6), two sterols (7, 8), and six polyketides (9–14). In addition, all the compounds except 8 and 10, as well as three new metabolites phomopyrazine (1), phomosterol C (7), and phomopyrone E (9), were not present in discrete fungal cultures and only detected in the co-cultures. The structures were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic analysis, and the absolute configurations were assumed by electronic circular dichroism (ECD) calculations. Subsequently, the cytotoxic, immunosuppressive, and acetylcholinesterase inhibitory properties of all the isolated metabolites were determined in vitro. Compound 8 exhibited moderate inhibitory activity against ConA-induced T and LPS-induced B murine splenic lymphocytes, with IC₅₀ values of 35.75 ± 1.09 and 47.65 ± 1.21 µM, respectively. Full article

Five new diterpenes including four diterpenes with 1,2,3,4,4a,5,6,8a-octalin skeleton talaroacids A–D (1–4) and an isopimarane diterpenoid talaromarane A (5) were isolated from the mangrove endophytic fungus Talaromyces sp. JNQQJ-4. Their structures and absolute configurations were determined by analysis of high-resolution electrospray ionization mass spectroscopy (HRESIMS), 1D/2D Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectra, single-crystal X-ray diffraction, quantum chemical calculation, and electronic circular dichroism (ECD). Talaromarane A (5) contains a rare 2-oxabicyclo [3.2.1] octan moiety in isopimarane diterpenoids. In bioassays, compounds 1, 2, 4, and 5 displayed significant anti-inflammatory activities with the IC₅₀ value from 4.59 to 21.60 μM. Full article

Four new cyclic pentapeptides, avellanins D–G (1–4), together with four known compounds (5–8), were isolated from a mangrove-derived Aspergillus fumigatus GXIMD 03099 fungus from Acanthus ilicifolius L. Their structures were elucidated by analysis of HRESIMS, NMR, and ESI-MS/MS data. Their absolute configurations were determined by X-ray diffraction analysis and Marfey’s method. Compounds 1–8 were screened for insecticidal and antibacterial activities. Compound 2 showed insecticidal activity against newly hatched larvae of Culex quinquefasciatus with an LC₅₀ value of 86.6 µM; compound 4 had weak activity against Vibrio harveyi with an MIC value of 5.85 µM. Full article