An endophytic fungus Arthrinium arundinis TE-3 was isolated and purified from the fresh leaves of cultivated tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.). Chemical investigation on this fungal strain afforded three new prenylated diphenyl ethers (1-3) as well as three known analogues (4-6). Structure elucidation of the isolated compounds was carried out by analysis of 1D and 2D nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and high-resolution electrospray ionization mass spectroscopy (HRESIMS) spectra, as well as by comparison of those data with literature data. The absolute configuration of the stereogenic center at C-8 in 1 was assigned by comparison of the experimental and calculated ECD spectra. Compounds 1 and 2 showed selective antifungal activity against Mucor hiemalis with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of 8 and 4 μg/mL, respectively. Compounds 5 and 6 exhibited inhibitory activity against Alteraria alternata with an MIC value of 8 μg/mL. In the cytotoxic assay, 2, 5, and 6 displayed moderate in vitro cytotoxicity against the human monocytic cell line (THP-1 cell line), with IC50 values of 40.2, 28.3, and 25.9 μM, respectively. This study indicated that endophytic fungi possess great potential for exploring new bioactive secondary metabolites.
Keywords: Arthrinium arundinis; Nicotiana tabacum L.; antifungal activity; cytotoxicity; prenylated diphenyl ethers; tobacco-derived endophytic fungus.