HPLC-DAD-Directed Isolation of Linearly Fused Prenylated Indole Alkaloids from a Soil-Derived Aspergillus versicolor

An HPLC-DAD-directed chemical investigation of the soil-derived fungus Aspergillus versicolor QC812 resulted in the isolation and identification of eight new linearly fused prenylated indole alkaloids, asperversiamides I-P (1-8), along with a congener, asperversiamide H (9). Their structures and absolute configurations were determined by spectroscopic analysis including HRESIMS and 1D and 2D NMR, electronic circular dichroism analysis, and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Asperversiamide I (1), the first diketopiperazine derived from D-proline and L-tryptophan, possesses an unprecedented C-11-spiro-fused 6/6/5/5/6/5 hexacyclic ring system. Asperversiamide J (2) is the first linearly fused 6/6/5 tricyclic prenylated indole alkaloid to be reported. 1 and 2 showed moderate inhibitory activities against HeLa cells with IC50 values of 7.3 and 6.4 mu M, respectively.