Minutellins A - D, azaphilones from the stromata of Annulohypoxylon minutellum (Xylariaceae)

Abstract

During the course of our screening for new metabolites with chemotaxonomic importance from stromata of fungi from the family Xylariaceae, we characterized several interesting metabolites in the fungus Annulohypoxylon minutellum. Extraction of the fruiting bodies and purification by preparative HPLC resulted in the isolation of five metabolites. The main compound was identified as the known metabolite hinnulin A (5), while four minor compounds were found to represent previously undescribed azaphilones, named minutellins A - D (1-4). Their planar structures were elucidated using NMR and HRESIMS data; absolute stereochemistry was assigned by CD data and Mosher's method. Compounds 1, 3 and 5 showed cytotoxic effects against murine and human cells. As the production of 1-5 is restricted to a group of closely related Annulohypoxylon species, they serve well as chemotaxonomic marker.

Keywords: Ascomycota; Binaphthyls; Biodiversity; Chemotaxonomy; Dereplication; Polyketides; Xylariales.