Bioassay-guided isolation of a fungal strain Nigrospora sp. MA75, an endophytic fungus obtained from the marine semi-mangrove plant Pongamia pinnata, which was fermented on three different culture media, resulted in the isolation and identification of seven known compounds, 2, 3, and 5-9, from a medium containing 3.5% NaCl, while a new compound, 2,3-didehydro-19α-hydroxy-14-epicochlioquinone B (10) was obtained from the medium containing 3.5% NaI. In addition, two new griseofulvin derivatives, 6-O-desmethyldechlorogriseofulvin (1) and 6'-hydroxygriseofulvin (4), were isolated and identified from the rice solid medium. Dechlorogriseofulvin (2) and griseofulvin (3) were the major components in fermentation extracts of all these culture media, while compounds 1 and 4, 5 and 6, and 10 were only present in the extract of respective culture medium. The structures of these compounds were elucidated by detailed spectroscopic analysis, and the absolute configuration of 1 was determined by CD measurement. Compounds 9 and 10 exhibited antibacterial activities toward five tested bacterial strains, while compounds 5, 6, and 8 selectively inhibited MRSA, E. coli, and S. epidermidis, and compound 3 showed moderate activity against V. mali and S. solani. Moreover, compound 10 potently inhibited the growth of MCF-7, SW1990, and SMMC7721 tumor cell lines with IC(50) values of 4, 5, and 7 μg/ml, respectively.

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