Five new compounds, pinazaphilones A and B (1, 2), two phenolic compounds (4, 5), and penicidone D (6), together with the known Sch 1385568 (3), (±)-penifupyrone (7), 3-O-methylfunicone (8), 5-methylbenzene-1,3-diol (9), and 2,4-dihydroxy-6-methylbenzoic acid (10) were obtained from the culture of the endophytic fungus Penicillium sp. HN29-3B1, which was isolated from a fresh branch of the mangrove plant Cerbera manghas collected from the South China Sea. Their structures were determined by analysis of 1D and 2D NMR and mass spectroscopic data. Structures of compounds 4 and 7 were further confirmed by a single-crystal X-ray diffraction experiment using Cu Kα radiation. The absolute configurations of compounds 1-3 were assigned by quantum chemical calculations of the electronic circular dichroic spectra. Compounds 2, 3, 5, and 7 inhibited α-glucosidase with IC50 values of 28.0, 16.6, 2.2, and 14.4 μM, respectively, and are thus more potent than the positive control, acarbose.

A pair of unusual benzannulated 6,6-spiroketal enantiomers [(-)-1 and (+)-1] and three new biogenetically related compounds (2-4), together with two known related analogues (5 and 6), have been isolated from a mangrove fungus, Penicillium dipodomyicola HN4-3A. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic analysis (1D and 2D NMR data) and X-ray crystallography. The absolute configurations of enantiomers (-)-1 and (+)-1 were determined using quantum chemical calculations of the electronic circular dichroic (ECD) spectra. Compounds 2 and 3 exhibited strong inhibitory activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis protein tyrosine phosphatase B (MptpB) with IC50 values of 0.16±0.02 and 1.37±0.05 μM, respectively.

Two new sulfur-containing benzofuran derivatives, eurothiocin A and B (1 and 2), along with five known compounds, zinniol (3), butyrolactone I (4), aspernolide D (5), vermistatin (6), and methoxyvermistatin (7), were isolated from the cultures of Eurotium rubrum SH-823, a fungus obtained from a Sarcophyton sp. soft coral collected from the South China Sea. The new compounds (1 and 2) share a methyl thiolester moiety, which is quite rare among natural secondary metabolites. The structures of these metabolites were assigned on the basis of detailed spectroscopic analysis. The absolute configurations of 1 and 2 were determined by comparison of the experimental and calculated electronic circular dichroism (ECD) data. Compounds 1 and 2 exhibited more potent inhibitory effects against α-glucosidase activity than the clinical α-glucosidase inhibitor acarbose. Further mechanistic analysis showed that both of them exhibited competitive inhibition characteristics.

Three new vermistatin derivatives, 6-demethylpenisimplicissin (1), 5'-hydroxypenisimplicissin (2), and 2''-epihydroxydihydrovermistatin (3), along with five known vermistatin analogues, methoxyvermistatin (4), vermistatin (5), 6-demethylvermistatin (6), hydroxyvermistatin (7), and penisimplicissin (8), were isolated from the culture of the mangrove endophytic fungus Penicillium sp. HN29-3B1 from Cerbera manghas. Their structures were elucidated mainly by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The absolute configurations of compounds 1 and 2 were deduced on the basis of circular dichroism data. The absolute structures of compounds 3 and 5 were confirmed by a single-crystal X-ray diffraction experiment using Cu Kα radiation. In the bioactivity assay, compounds 1 and 3 exhibited α-glucosidase inhibitory activity with IC50 values of 9.5 ± 1.2 and 8.0 ± 1.5 µM, respectively. The plausible biosynthetic pathways for all compounds are discussed.

Chemical investigation of the endophytic fungus Aspergillus sp. 16-5B cultured on Czapek’s medium led to the isolation of four new metabolites, aspergifuranone (1), isocoumarin derivatives (±) 2 and (±) 3, and (R)-3-demethylpurpurester A (4), together with the known purpurester B (5) and pestaphthalides A (6). Their structures were determined by analysis of 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic data. The absolute configuration of Compound 1 was determined by comparison of the experimental and calculated electronic circular dichroism (ECD) spectra, and that of Compound 4 was revealed by comparing its optical rotation data and CD with those of the literature. The structure of Compound 6 was further confirmed by single-crystal X-ray diffraction experiment using CuKα radiation. All isolated compounds were evaluated for their α-glucosidase inhibitory activities, and Compound 1 showed significant inhibitory activity with IC50 value of 9.05 ± 0.60 μM. Kinetic analysis showed that Compound 1 was a noncompetitive inhibitor of α-glucosidase. Compounds 2 and 6 exhibited moderate inhibitory activities.