Glyceroglycolipids from the solid culture of Ophiocordyceps sinensis strain LY34 isolated from Tibet of China.

Ophiocordyceps sinensis is a well-known entomogenous fungus with its fruiting bodies or cultural mycelium as food and herbal medicines in Asia. While metabolites which could responsible for its potent pharmaceutical effects has long remained to be elucidated. In this work, chemical investigation on the solid culture of O. sinensis strain LY34 led to the discovery of six digalactosyldiacylglycerols (DGDGS, 1-6) including one new. The structure of compound 1 was determined based on the comprehensive spectra analysis, including NMR, MSⁿ, IR, and chemical derivatisation. Bioactivity studies showed a weak cytotoxicity of compounds 1-6 against 293 T cell and medium anti-inflammatory activity of compounds 1 and 2 on Raw 264.7 cell. The discovery of DGDGs in O. sinensis provides new insight into the pharmacologically active substances.