5’-Methoxyarmillane, a Bioactive Sesquiterpenoid Aryl Ester from the Fungus Armillaria ostoyae

Higher fungi of the genus Armillaria belonging to the phylum Basidiomycota produce bioactive sesquiterpenoid aryl esters called melleolides. A bioactivity-guided discovery process led to the identification of the new melleolide 5’-methoxyarmillane (1) in organic extracts from the mycelium of Armillaria ostoyae. Remarkably, supplementation of rapeseed oil to the culture medium potato dextrose broth increased the production of 1 by a factor of six during the course of the 35 days fermentation. Compound 1 was isolated and its structure elucidated by UHPLC-QTOF-HR-MS/MS and NMR spectroscopy. It showed toxicity against Madin-Darby canine kidney II (MDCK II, IC₅₀ 19.2 μg/mL, 44.1 μM) and human lung cancer Calu-3 cells (IC₅₀ 15.2 μg/mL, 34.9 μM) as well as moderate bioactivity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MIC 8 mg/mL, 18.4 μM) and Mycobacterium smegmatis (MIC 16 mg/mL, 36.8 μM), but not against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Candida albicans, and Septoria tritici. No inhibitory effects of 1 against the influenza viruses H3N2, H1N1pdm, B/Malaysia, and B/Massachusetts were observed.