Ultraviolet-dependent biological activities of selected polyines of the asteraceae.

A series of eight polyines, isolated from several plants and containing various furanyl, thiophene, and spiro groups, were evaluated for antibiotic, antiviral, and cytotoxic activities in the presence and absence of long wavelength ultraviolet light, UVA. One compound, a furanopolyine, had impressive activity against a range of microorganisms, and membrane-containing viruses, as well as cytotoxic activity. All of these properties were UVA-dependent. Three other similar compounds had different patterns of UV-dependent activity against the various organisms, but some of these could also be of use in therapy of infectious diseases. In contrast, the dehydromatricaria esters and the two spiro compounds had relatively little biological activity.