New compounds designated pentacecilides A to C were isolated from the fermentation broth of Penicillium cecidicola FKI-3765-1 by solvent extraction, silica gel column chromatography and preparative HPLC. Pentacecilides A and B dosedependently inhibited lipid droplet formation in mouse macrophages. Furthermore, pentacecilides A and B were found to inhibit the synthesis of cholesteryl ester in mouse macrophages with respective IC 50 values of 3.65 and 4.76 lM without any cytotoxic effect, but pentacecilide C showed almost no activity. The study of the mechanism of action strongly suggested that pentacecilides A and B inhibit acyl-CoA: cholesterol acyltransferase activity in macrophages.

Aims Grassland plant species diversity is affected by local, temporal and landscape environmental factors, but what is the relative importance of those factors? Understanding this is crucial for the effective conservation of grassland vegetation. We analyzed the factors affecting species richness to contribute to native species conservation and alien species management in grassland vegetation. Location Semi‐natural grasslands in Shiroi City, Chiba Prefecture, Japan. Methods The species composition in 36 grasslands was surveyed in 2014. Plants were classified as native grassland specialist, other native or alien species. Generalized Linear Models (GLM) were developed, with the number of species in each plant type as the response variable and local (habitat area, use of mowing management), landscape (adjacent land use, connectivity to other grassland habitats) and temporal (period for which the grassland has been preserved from development, i.e., temporal continuity) factors as explanatory variables. Other GLM were developed with the presence/absence of each species as a response variable and three factors as explanatory variables. Results Habitat area, use of mowing management and temporal continuity were most important in explaining the number of grassland specialist species and had significant positive effects on their richness. Species‐based analysis identified a significant positive effect of temporal continuity on grassland specialist species. By contrast, habitat area and adjacent land use were most related to alien species richness. The number of alien species was high in grasslands adjacent to farmlands or roads. Conclusions The relative importance of temporal and spatial factors differs between native grassland specialists and alien species. Mowing is effective for the conservation of grassland specialists’ species diversity, particularly in historically old grasslands. However, it is necessary to pay attention to the invasion of alien species from adjacent residential or agricultural areas.

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From a study on the biological activity of fungal stemphones and their derivatives, five derivatives having an O-alkyl moiety at C-11 of stemphone C were found to inhibit lipid droplet accumulation in macrophages without any cytotoxic effect. Among the derivatives, those having O-isopropyl and O-isobutyl were the most potent inhibitors by blocking the synthesis of both cholesteryl ester (CE) and triacylglycerol (TG), the main constituents of lipid droplets in macrophages.

Terpenes U 0200Pentacecilides, New Inhibitors of Lipid Droplet Formation in Mouse Macrophages, Produced by Penicillium cecidicola FKI-3765-1. Part 1. Taxonomy, Fermentation, Isolation and Biological Properties. -(YAMAZAKI, H.; KOBAYASHI, K.; MATSUDA, D.; NONAKA, K.; MASUMA, R.; OMURA, S.; TOMODA*, H.; J. Antibiot. 62 (2009) 4, 195-200; Grad. Sch. Pharm. Sci., Kitasato Univ., Minato, Tokyo 108, Japan; Eng.) -H. Toeppel 33-192