Leishmanicidal and anticandidal activity of constituents of Indian edible mushroom Astraeus hygrometricus.

Two new lanostane-type triterpenes, 1 and 2, were isolated from Astraeus hygrometricus. The structures were established by IR, (1)H- and (13)C-NMR, MS, and X-ray crystallographic experiments. The triterpenes exhibited excellent in vitro toxicities against Candida albicans, comparable to standard antifungal antibiotics. The triterpene 2 significantly inhibited the growth of Leishmania donovani promastigotes in vitro. The triterpene skeleton may be considered a template structure in search for new compounds with anticandidal and leishmanicidal activity.