Pure &App/. zyxwvutsrqpon Chern., zyxwvutsrq Vol. zyxwvutsr 66, zyxwvutsr Nos lO/ll, zyxwvutsrq pp. 2391-2394, 1994. Printed in Great Britain. zyxwvutsrqp 0 1994 IUPAC Chemistry of the cytotoxic principles of the marine fungus Lignincola laevis zyx S. P. Abraham1, T. D. Hoang', M. Alam'*, and E. B. Gareth Jones2 'Department of Pharmacological and Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Houston, Houston, Texas 77204 and 2School of Biological Sciences, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, England Abstract: A methylene chloride : methanol (2:lvh) extract of the marine fungus Lignincol laevis was found to inhibit the growth of mouse murine leukemia cells (L 1210). Large scale culturing followed by fractionation of the extract on silica gel has resulted in the isolation of a cytotoxic 1 along with 7- hydroxyergosterol 2 and a ceramide 3. Structures of the isolated compounds were established with the help of two-dimensional NMR spectroscopy. During the last decade a plethora of compounds with novel structures have been isolatedfrom marine invertebrates[11. A number of studies have shown that many of these compounds have had their origin either in the dietary sources of these invertebrates or they are metabolic products of compounds derived from dietary sources. Investigations dealing with the secondary metabolites of the marine cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) and phytoflagellates (belonging to the phylum Mastigophora), which form the basis of the food chain in marine environments, have confirmed that in many instances the real sources of compounds with unusual structures that have been isolated from marine coral and mollusks, are derived from marine microorganisms [I, 21. During the last decade only ten marine fungal metabolites have been reported in the literature; these include siccaynes (1) from Halocyphina villosa [3], leptoshaerin (2) from Leptosphaeria oruemis [4], gliovictin (3) from Asteromyces cruciatus [5], phomactin A (4) from a fungus of Phoma sp. [6], helicascolides (5) from Helicascus kanaloanus [7], melinacidins zyx (6), a number of dendryphielins (7) from marine deuteromycetes Dendryphiella salina [8], fumiquinazolines ( 8) COORl ,o R1 0 6 z R3 from Asperg illus fumigatus [9], phenazine L-quinovose (9) esters from a marine Actinomycetes [ 101 and auranticins (1 0) from Preussia aurantiaca [ 111 and gancidin W from corollospora pulchella [ 121, . Incontrast to the secondary metabolites of phytoflagellates and blue-greeen algae, all, but two, of the above mentioned compounds, produced by fungi, are secreted into the medium 239 1