Bioactive depsidones from the fungus Pilobolus heterosporus.

A new aromatic ester, pilobolusate (1), four new depsidones, pilobolusones A-D (2-5), five known depsidones, (6-10), and ergosterol were isolated from the fungus Pilobolus heterosporus. Their structures were established on the basis of spectroscopic data. Compounds 2 and 4-9 showed cytotoxicity against three cancer cell lines (KB, MCF-7, and NCI-H187) with IC50 values in the range of 9.94-97.42 µM. In addition, compounds 2, 5, 9, and 10 exhibited antimalarial activity against Plasmodium falciparum with IC50 values ranging from 3.67-23.56 µM. Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.