Four New Highly Oxygenated Eremophilane Sesquiterpenes from an Endophytic Fungus <i>Boeremia exigua</i> Isolated from <i>Fritillaria hupehensis</i>

Abstract

Four new eremophilane-type sesquiterpenes, boeremialanes A–D (1–4) were obtained from solid substrate cultures of Boeremia exigua (Didymellaceae), an endophytic fungus isolated from Fritillaria hupehensis (Liliaceae). Boeremialanes A–C (1–3) are highly oxygenated eremophilanes with a benzoate unit attached at the C-13 position and are rarely found in nature. Their structures and absolute configurations were determined by extensive spectroscopic methods, electronic circular dichroism (ECD), and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) calculations with DP4+ analysis. Boeremialane D (4) potently inhibited nitric oxide production in lipopolysaccharide-treated RAW264.7 macrophages with an IC50 of 8.62 μM and was more potent than the positive control, pyrrolidinedithiocarbamate (IC50 = 23.1 μM).

Keywords

• <i>Boeremia exigua</i>
• <i>Fritillaria hupehensis</i>
• eremophilanes
• boeremialanes
• anti-inflammatory
• NO production inhibition