Westalsan: A New Acetylcholine Esterase Inhibitor from the Endophytic FungusWesterdykella nigra

Abstract

A new cytochalasan alkaloid, westalsan (1), along with two known cytochalasan compounds, phomacin B (2) and 19‐hydroxy‐19,20‐dihydrophomacin C (3), were isolated from the solid rice culture of Westerdykella nigra, a marine‐derived endophytic fungus, isolated from the roots of mangrove Avicennia marina (Forssk.) Vierh. The structures of compounds 1–3 were established on the basis of extensive 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic techniques in combination with HR‐ESI‐MS. The ability of the isolated compounds to inhibit acetylcholine esterase activity was evaluated. Compound 3 showed the highest acetylcholine esterase inhibitory activity (IC50 0.056±0.003 μM), followed by compound 1 (IC50 0.088±0.005 μM) and compound 2 (IC50 0.140±0.007 μM) compared to donepezil (IC50 0.035±0.002 μM). This was further confirmed by molecular docking experiment.

Neuroprotective effects of quercetin produced by an endophytic fungus Nigrospora oryzae isolated from Tinospora cordifolia

“…One of the botryane sesquiterpenes produced by the endophytic fungus Nemania bipapillata isolated from red alga Asparagopsis taxiformis — Falkenbergia stage showed both AChE and butyrylcholinesterase inhibitory activities (Medina et al, 2019). Cytochalasans such as westalsan and 19‐hydroxy‐19,20‐dihydrophomacin C produced by marine endophytic fungus Westerdykella nigra associated with roots of mangrove Avicennia marina exhibited AChE inhibitory activity along with its activity against glaucoma and myasthenia gravis (Sallam et al, 2021). The extract of GL15 showed radical scavenging activity of 59.62 at 1 mg ml −1 .…”

Leads Search for Acetylcholinesterase Inhibitors Derived From Secondary Metabolites of Endophytic Fungi: A Review

“…roots growing in Safaga, Red Sea, Egypt, were reported capable of producing alkaloids westalsan (1), phomacin B (2), and 19-hydroxy-19,20dihydrophomacin C (3). These compounds showed potent activity as AChEIs, where 19hydroxy-19,20-dihydrophomacin C showed the lowest IC 50 value of 0.056 μM, followed by westalsan and phomacin B with IC 50 values of 0.088 μM and 0.140 μM, respectively [8] .…”