Cortamidine oxide, a novel disulfide metabolite from the New Zealand basidiomycete (mushroom) Cortinarius species.

Three disulfide metabolites were isolated from the fruiting bodies of the basidiomycete (mushroom) Cortinarius sp., collected in the Catlins, New Zealand. The structures of these compounds were determined as the unsymmetrical disulfide cortamidine oxide (1), 2,2'-dithiobis(pyridine N-oxide) (2), and the symmetrical disulfide 3. Both 1 and 2 showed significant antimicrobial activity and cytotoxicity. 2,2'-Dithiobis(pyridine N-oxide) (2) and the symmetrical disulfide 3 are assumed to be artifacts of the isolation procedure.