Four new compounds, including two new polyketides, heterocornols M and N (1, 2), and a pair of epimers, heterocornols O and P (3, 4), were isolated from the fermentation broth of the marine sponge-derived fungus Pestalotiopsis heterocornis XWS03F09, together with three known compounds (5-7). The new chemical structures were established on the basis of a spectroscopic analysis, optical rotation, experimental and calculated electronic circular dichroism (ECD). All of the compounds (1-7) were evaluated for their cytotoxic activities, and heterocornols M-P (1-4) exhibited cytotoxicities against four human cancer cell lines with IC50 values of 20.4-94.2 μM.
Keywords: cytotoxicity; marine-derived fungus; polyketide.