A new antitumor antibiotic, BE-19412A, produced by a streptomycete.

A new antitumor substance, designated BE-19412A, was isolated from the culture broth of Streptomyces sp. A19412. The active principle was extracted from the mycelium by methanol and purified by Silica gel and Sephadex LH-20 column chromatographies. BE-19412B was prepared by methylation of BE-19412A. BE-19412A and B exhibited cytotoxic activity against murine and human tumor cell lines. BE-19412A prolonged the survival of CDF1 mice bearing i.p. implanted Ehrlich carcinoma cells.