Anti-inflammatory compounds from Xylaria sp SWUF09-62 fungus

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death in humans worldwide and because of this there is a concerted effort to try to treat and eventually eradicate this disease. The use of natural and synthetic chemoprevention and chemotherapeutic drugs is just one ways that researchers are trying to achieve this [1],[2]. Chronic inflammation is one of the factors responsible for inflammation-associated carcinogenesis, therefore anti-inflammation compounds could play a vital role as chemoprevention drugs [3]–[5]. The aim of this work is to identify the anti-inflammatory compounds from Xylaria sp SWUF09-62 fungus, from the Xylariaceae family, which are found in the wild throughout Thailand.

The stroma of the fungus was isolated and cultivated in liquid media, then extracted with organic solvents and finally purified by chromatographic methods. Seventeen (1-17) compounds were isolated. There were five chromone (1-5) and six mullein (6-11) derivatives, together with 5,6-dihydro-4-methoxy-2H-pyran-2-one (12), (1ʹR)-dehydropestalotin (13), 5-hydroxymethyl-2-furfural (14), ergosterol (15), ergosterol peroxide (16) and cytidine (17). Anti-inflammatory activity was screened by measuring the level of nitric oxide (NO) production in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated RAW264.7 cells. The results showed that 13 and 17 reduced NO production more than 70%, which was better than the control drug diclofenac.

In conclusion, the Xylariaceae family has proven to be a vital source of bioactive compounds and it is imperative that the search for potential drug candidates from these fungi be continued. New species are often being reported thus increasing the probability of discovering new bioactive compounds for potential pharmaceutical applications.

Fig. 1 Characteristic of fungus on agar plate and some anti-inflammatory compounds

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