Azicemicins A and B, a new antimicrobial agent produced by Amycolatopsis. I. Taxonomy, fermentation, isolation, characterization and biological activities.

A new structural class of the antibiotic, azicemicins A (1) and B (2) were isolated from the culture broth of the strain MJ126-NF4, which was closely related to Amycolatopsis sulphurea. They were purified by adsorption on Diaion HP-20, silica gel column chromatography and preparative TLC. The molecular formulas of 1 and 2 were determined to be C23H25O9N and C22H23O9N by HRFAB-MS, respectively. Azicemicins A and B have moderate growth inhibiting activity against Gram-positive bacteria and mycobacteria.