Cytotoxic and antiviral nitrobenzoyl sesquiterpenoids from the marine-derived fungus Aspergillus ochraceus Jcma1F17

Nitrobenzoyl sesquiterpenoids are rare in natural sources, and fungi Aspergillus species are the only sources of them. A new nitrobenzoyl sesquiterpenoid, 6 beta, 9 alpha-dihydroxy-14-p-nitrobenzoylcinnamolide (1), and a known analogue, insulicolide A (2), were isolated from extracts of the culture of marine-derived fungus Aspergillus ochraceus Jcma1F17, which was identified by morphological and ITS phylogenetic analyses. The structures were determined by NMR, MS, CD, and optical rotation analyses. Both nitrobenzoyl sesquiterpenoids displayed significant cytotoxicities against 10 cancer cell lines, and the new one (1) also showed antiviral activities against H3N2 and EV71. This is the first time that nitrobenzoyl sesquiterpenoids from A. ochraceus have been reported.