The new asperorlactone (1), along with the known illudalane sesquiterpene echinolactone D (2), two known pyrones, 4-(hydroxymethyl)-5-hydroxy-2H-pyran-2-one (3) and its acetate 4, and 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde (5), were isolated from a culture of Aspergillus oryzae, collected from Red Sea marine sediments. The structure of asperorlactone (1) was elucidated by HR-ESIMS, 1D, and 2D NMR, and a comparison between experimental and DFT calculated electronic circular dichroism (ECD) spectra. This is the first report of illudalane sesquiterpenoids from Aspergillus fungi and, more in general, from ascomycetes. Asperorlactone (1) exhibited antiproliferative activity against human lung, liver, and breast carcinoma cell lines, with IC50 values < 100 µM. All the isolated compounds were also evaluated for their toxicity using the zebrafish embryo model.
