Yang Wang, Ling Zhang, Gen-Tao Li, Zheng-Hui Li, Ze-Jun Dong, Yan Li, Ji-Kai Liu
Engleromyces goetzii is a traditional medicinal mushroom that is widely used to treat infection, inflammation and cancer in Tibet, Sichuan and Yunnan provinces of China. Two new trichothecenes, engleromycones A and B(1 and 2), one new cuparane-type sesquiterpenoid named infuscol F(11), eight known trichothecene analogs, sambucinol(3), 3-deoxysambucinol(4), trichothecolone(5), trichodermol(6), 8-deoxytrichothecin(7), trichothecin(8), trichothecinol B(9) and trichothecinol A(10), and one known cyclopentanoid sesquiterpene cyclonerodiol(12) were isolated from the cultures of E. goetzii. The new compounds were elucidated through spectroscopic analyses. The anticancer effects of trichothecenes 1-10 were examined in the HL-60, SMMC-7721, A549, MCF-7, and SW-480 human cancer cell lines using an MTT assay. Trichothecinol A(10) significantly inhibited the growth of MCF-7 cells, with an IC50 value of 0.006 μM, which was comparable to the cytotoxic activity of the positive control, paclitaxel, indicating that trichothecinol A(10) represents a potential anticancer agent.