Four new polyketide compounds, including two new unique isocoumarins penicillol A (1) and penicillol B (2) featuring with spiroketal rings, two new citreoviridin derivatives citreoviridin H (3) and citreoviridin I (4), along with four known analogues were isolated from the mangrove endophytic fungus Penicillium sp. BJR-P2. Their structures were elucidated by extensive spectroscopic methods. The absolute configurations of compounds 1-4 based on electronic circular dichroism (ECD) calculations, DP4+ analysis, and single-crystal X-ray diffraction are presented. All the new compounds were evaluated for anti-inflammatory activity. An anti-inflammatory assay indicated that compound 2 inhibited lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced NO production in RAW 264.7 cells, with half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) values of 12 μM, being more potent than the positive control, indomethacin (IC50 = 35.8 ± 5.7 μM). Docking study showed that compound 2 was perfectly docking into the active site of murine inducible nitric oxide oxygenase (iNOS) via forming multiple typical hydrogen bonds.
Keywords: Penicillium sp.; anti-inflammatory activity; isocoumarins; polyketides.