SESQUITERPENE COMPOUNDS

Abstract: Sesquiterpene compounds represented by the following structural formula I: wherein one of the two R 1 s is -COOR 3 , and the other one is any one of the groups represented by the following structural formulas, wherein R 2 and R 3 are independently hydrogen atom or alkyl group, and R 4 is hydroxyl group or alkoxyl group.

Description: The present invention relates to a new family of sesquiterpene compounds which are isolated from fruit bodies of Basidiomycota, and expected to be applied to the medication because of their anti-fungal activities. Background of the Invention Development of anti-microbial drugs with antibiotics playing the central role has been achieved remarkably, while that of anti-fungal drugs is not necessarily satisfactory from the perspective of their varieties and effectivities. Especially, the opportunistic mycoses of internal organs caused by infections with Candida, Aspergillus and Cryptococcus mycetes due to the decrease in bodily defense capability induced by extensive administration of carcinostatic agents, immunosuppressants, steroid hormones, etc. as well as AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) in recent years are posing an important medical problem. Therefore, there is a strong demand for the development of remedies for mycoses. On the other hand, physiologically active ingredients contained in mushrooms have been examined extensively since olden times. Elfvingia applanata (kofuki-saru-no-koshikake, Ganodermataceae) and Coriolus versicolor (Kawara-take, Polyporaceae have been used as legendary herb medicines or folk medicines for gastric cancer, esophagus cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer, etc. Especially, β-D-glucan-protein complex (PS-K) extracted from mycelia of Coriolaceae (Kawara-take) in culture has been used extensively as a carcinostatic agent. Furthermore, there has been reported the isolation of a carcinostatic protein-polysaccharide from aqueous extracts and ergosterol from CHCI 3 -MeOH extracts of Hitokuchitake, respectively, by Lee et al. (1981) and Kim et al. (1982) in Korea [Asakawa et al., Trans. Mycol. Soc. Japan, 29, 281-296 (1988)]. Furthermore, there has been reported the isolation of cryptoporic acids A-G [Asakawa et al., Trans. Mycol. Soc. Japan, 29, 281-296 (1988); Asakawa et al., Phytochemistry, 31(2), 579-592 (1992)], and cryptoporic acid H [M. Hirotani et al., Phytochemistry, 30 (5), 1555-1559 ( 1991)] from this Hitokuchitake has been reported. Disclosure of the Invention Searching for novel physiologically active ingredients contained mushrooms, the present inventors made tremendous efforts to find compounds having strong anti-fungal activity against the above mentioned eumycetes which induce the opportunistic mycosis of internal organs, that is, compounds effectively usable as anti-fungal agents. The present invention aims at providing effective compounds as anti-fungal agents. Based on thorough study, the present inventors succeeded in isolating novel sesquiterpene compounds from the lower alcohol or acetone extracts of fruit bodies of Roseofomes subflexibilis (Hounen-take) (Berk. et Curt. Aoshi.) in Polyporaceae family, and accomplished the present invention by further finding the anti-fungal activity of these compounds in the assay of antibiotic action. In the chemical formulas described in the present invention, when residues denoted by R 1 are present plurally in a given one compound, they may represent the same residue or different ones. The same rule will be applied to R 3 and R 4 . Namely, the present invention relates to sesquiterpene compounds represented by the following general structural formula I: wherein one of the two R 1 groups is -COOR 3 , and the other one is any one of the groups represented by the following formulas, wherein R 2 and R 3 independently are hydrogen atom, alkyl group or acyloxyalkyl, and R 4 is hydroxyl group or alkoxy group: In the most preferred embodiments of the present invention, R 2 and R 3 are hydrogen atom or lower alkyl group, and R 4 is hydroxyl group. The present invention also includes anti-microbial agents comprising sesquiterpene compounds represented by the following general formula II: wherein R 1 is -COOR 2 group (wherein R 2 is hydrogen atom, alkyl group or acyloxyalkyl group), or any one of the groups represented by the following formulas (wherein R 3 is hydroxyl group or alkoxy group). Of these anti-microbial agents described above, those characteristic of comprising sesquiterpene compounds represented by the following Formula I are most preferable: wherein one of the two R 1 s in the Formula is -COOR 3 group, and the other one is COOH group or any one of the groups represented by the following formulas, wherein R 2 and R 3 are independently hydrogen atom, alkyl group or acyloxyalkyl group, respectively, or both hydrogen atoms when the other one of R 1 group described above is -COOH, and R 4 is hydroxyl group or alkoxy group. The present invention is described in detail below. Firstly, the method for isolating the novel compounds of the present invention from Roseofomes subflexibilis (Hounen-take) in Polyporaceae family will be described. The novel compounds of this invention can be extracted from fruit bodies of Roseofomes subflexibilis (Hounen-take) in Polyporaceae family which is mainly grown on fallen timbers in coppice from summer to autumn. Fruit bodies of Hounen-take are finely minced, and immersed in acetone or lower alcohol such as methanol at room temperature for 1 to 3 days. After the extract is concentrated in vacuo, the syrupy residue is suspended in water, and extracted with ethyl acetate . The ethyl acetate extract thus obtained is purified by silica gel chromatography and preparative thin layer chromatography conventionally used for separating antibiotics, and further in combination with high performance liquid chromatography to fractionate the novel compounds of the present invention including TG101, TG102, TG103, TG104, and other cryptoporic acid A (CA-A). Although these novel compounds can not be crystallized, they can be obtained as colorless or pale yellow powder by selecting the suitable solvent to dissolve them, evaporating it followed by drying them. Furthermore, derivatives of each isolated compound can be produced by chemical syntheses. In the following, the method for preparing novel compounds of the present invention will be described with reference to examples, but they should not be construed to limit this invention. Brief Description of the Drawings Figure 1 shows 1 H NMR (500 MHz; CDCl 3 ) spectrum of TG101. Figure 2 shows a partial magnification of 1 H NMR (500 MHz; CDCl 3 ) spectrum of TG101. Figure 3 shows a partial magnification of 1 H NMR (500 MHz; CDCl 3 ) spectrum of TG101. Figure 4 shows 13 C NMR (125 MHz; CDCl 3 ) spectrum of TG101. Figure 5 shows 1 H NMR (500 MHz; CDCl 3 ) spectrum of TG102. Figure 6 shows a partial magnification of 1 H NMR (500 MHz; CDCl 3 ) spectrum of TG102. Figure 7 shows a partial magnification of 1 H NMR (500 MHz; CDCl 3 ) spectrum of TG102. Figure 8 shows 1 H NMR (500 MHz; CDCl 3 ) spectrum of TG103. Figure 9 shows a partial magnification of 1 H NMR (500 MHz; CDCl 3 ) of TG103. Figure 10 shows 13 C NMR (125 MHz; CDCl 3 ) spectrum of TG103. Figure 11 shows 1 H NMR (500 MHz; CDCl 3 ) spectrum of TG104. Figure 12 shows a partial magnification of 1 H NMR (500 MHz; CDCl 3 ) spectrum of TG104. Figure 13 shows a partial magnification of 1 H NMR (500 MHz; CDCl 3 ) spectrum of TG104. Figure 14 shows 1 H NMR (500 MHz; CDCl 3 ) spectrum of CA-A. Figure 15 shows an infrared absorption spectrum (KBr) of CA-A. Figure 16 shows 1 H NMR (500 MHz; CDCl 3 ) spectrum of TG103-OX. Figure 17 shows an infrared absorption spectrum (KBr) of TG103-OX. Figure 18 shows 1 H NMR (500 MHz; CDCl 3 ) spectrum of CA-H. Figure 19 shows an infrared absorption spectrum (KBr) of CA-H. Figure 20 shows 1 H NMR (500 MHz; CDCl 3 ) spectrum of CA-H-Me. Figure 21 shows an infrared absorption spectrum (KBr) of CA-H-Me. Figure 22 shows 1 H NMR (500 MHz; CDCl 3 )spectrum and its partial magnifications of TG101-Me. Figure 23 shows an infrared absorption spectrum (KBr) of TG101-Me. Figure 24 shows 1 H NMR (500 MHz; CDCl 3 ) spectrum and its partial magnifications of TG103-Me. Figure 25 shows an infrared absorption spectrum (KBr) of TG103-Me. Figure 26 shows 1 H NMR (500 MHz; CDCl 3 ) spectrum of TG101-POM. Figure 27 shows an infrared absorption spectrum (KBr) of TG101-POM. Figure 28 shows 1 H NMR (500 MHz; CDCl 3 ) spectrum of TG103-POM. Figure 29 shows an infrared absorption spectrum (KBr) of TG103-POM. Figure 30 shows 1 H NMR (500 MHz; CDCl 3 ) spectrum of TG105. Figure 31 shows an infrared absorption spectrum (KBr) of TG105. Most Preferred Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention [Compounds Isolated from Roseofomes subflexibilis (Hounen-take)] <Isolation of TG101, TG102, TG103 and TG104> Fruit bodies (60 g) of Hounen-take harvested at Aoba-yama in Sendai City, Japan, in October, 1992 were immersed in acetone (300 ml) for one day to obtain the acetone-extract, and then the insoluble residue was further immersed in methanol (30 ml) to obtain the methanol-extract. After each solvent of the two extracts was distilled off in vacuo, water (25 ml) was added to each residue, and extracted with ethyl acetate (50 ml, twice). After both of the ethyl acetate soluble fractions thus obtained were confirmed to contain novel compounds by thin layer chromatography, these fractions were combined. The ethyl acetate soluble fraction (1.52 g) was subjected to silica gel column chromatography (16 g; 1.5 cm internal diameter x 20 cm), and eluted successively with the mixed eluents comprising n-hexane/ethyl acetate, chloroform/ethyl acetate and chloroform/methanol. After fractions eluted with chloroform/methanol (95/5 to 90/10) were combined, concentrated in vacuo, the residue thus obtained (308 mg) was further fractionated by silica gel column chromatography (eluent, chloroform/methanol = 99/1 to 90/10) to obtain the fraction (149 mg) eluted with chloroform/methanol (98/2 to 96/4). On the other hand, the fraction (161 mg) eluted with chloroform/methanol (90/10 to 80/20) was similarly fractionated to obtain the fraction (68 mg) eluted with chloroform/methanol (95/5 to 90/10). These fractions thus obtained were purified by preparative thin layer chromatography [on TLC plate of silica gel 60 F 254 , 20 cm x 20 cm x 0.5 mm (E. Merck); eluent, chloroform/methanol = 95/5 to 90/10 ) to yield four kinds of colorless or pale yellow syrupy novel compounds. Yields of the compounds designated TG101, TG102, TG103 and TG104 were 52.3 mg, 2.8 mg, 31.1 mg and 5.4 mg, respectively. The structural formulas and physico-chemical properties of novel compounds isolated from Hounen-take described above are as follows: Physico-chemical properties of TG101 are, (1) Description: pale yellow syrup, (2) Specific rotation: [α] D 24 -20.9° (c = 0.23, chloroform ), (3) Molecular weight: 642, (4) Molecular formula: C 37 H 54 O 9 , (5) EI mass spectrum: m/z 642 (M + ), (6) HREI mass spectrum: m/z 642.3748 (M + : C 37 H 54 O 9 ), Found: 642.3768, (7) Ultra-violet absorption spectrum (nm) λ max (MeOH)(log ε): 201 (4.12), 228 (3.98), 296 (2.96) (8) Infrared absorption spectrum (cm -1 ) ν max (CHCl 3 ): 3600-2400 (br), 2925, 2850, 1750 (sh), 1720, 1680, 1640, 1460, 1440, 1380, 1360, 1300-1200 (br), 1170, 1130 (9) 1 H NMR spectrum: as shown in Figures 1 to 3, (10) 13 C NMR spectrum: as shown in Figure 4, (11) Solubility: readily soluble in methanol, acetone, and ethyl acetate, soluble in chloroform, and slightly soluble in water (12) Rf values: silica gel thin layer chromatography on Kieselgel 60F 254 (Merck) 0.46 (chloroform/methanol = 90/10 ) 0.17 (chloroform/ethyl acetate/methanol = 15/5/1) (13) Color reaction: positive for Ehrlich's reagent (reddish purple). Physico-chemical properties of TG102 are, (1) Description: colorless syrup, (2) Molecular weight: 642, (3) Molecular formula: C 37 H 54 O 9 , (4) EI mass spectrum: m/z 642 (M + ), (5) 1 H NMR spectrum: as shown in Figures 5 to 7, (6) Solubility: readily soluble in methanol, acetone, and ethyl acetate, soluble in chloroform, and slightly soluble in water, (7) Rf values: silica gel thin layer chromatography on Kieselgel 60F 254 (Merck), 0.41 (chloroform/methanol = 90/10 ) 0.13 (chloroform/ethyl acetate/methanol = 15/5/1), (8) Color reaction: positive for Ehrlich's reagent (reddish purple) Physico-chemical properties of TG103 are, (1) Description: colorless syrup, (2) Specific rotation: [α] D 26 +10.6°(c = 0.17, chloroform), (3) Molecular weight: 644, (4) Molecular formula: C 37 H 56 O 9 , (5) FAB mass spectrum: m/z 667 [(M+Na) + ], (6) HREI mass spectrum: m/z 626.3838 (M + -H 2 O: C 37 H 54 O 8 ), Found: 626.3819, (7) Infrared absorption spectrum (cm -1 ) ν max (CHCl 3 ): 3625-2400 (br), 2940, 2860, 1750 (sh), 1730, 1640, 1460, 1440, 1390, 1360, 1320_1400 (br), 1130, 1010 (8) 1 H NMR spectrum: as shown in Figures 8 and 9, (9) 13 C NMR spectrum: as shown in Figure 10, (10) Solubility: readily soluble in methanol, acetone, and ethyl acetate, soluble in chloroform, and slightly soluble in water, (11) Rf values: silica gel thin layer chromatography on Kieselgel 60F 254 (Merck), 0.29 (chloroform/methanol = 90/10 ), 0.07 (chloroform/ethyl acetate/methanol = 15/5/1), (12) Color reaction: positive for Ehrlich's reagent (reddish purple). Physico-chemical properties of TG104 are, (1) Description: colorless syrup, (2) Specific rotation: [α] D 24 +25.6°(c = 0.36, chloroform ), (3) Molecular weight: 644, (4) Molecular formula: C 37 H 56 O 9 , (5) FAB mass spectrum: m/z 667 [(M+Na) + ], (6) HREI mass spectrum: m/z 626.3859 (M + -H 2 O: C 37 H 54 O 8 ), Found: 626.3819, (7) Infrared absorption spectrum (cm -1 ) ν max (CHCl 3 ): 3625-2400 (br), 2930, 2850, 1740, 1720 (sh), 1640, 1460, 1440, 1390, 1360, 1340-1150 (br), 1130, 1010 (8) 1 H NMR spectrum: as shown in Figures 11 to 13, (9) Solubility: readily soluble in methanol, acetone and ethyl acetate, soluble in chloroform, slightly soluble in water, (10) Rf values: silica gel thin layer chromatography on Kieselgel 60F 254 (Merck), 0.24 (chloroform/methanol = 90/10 ) 0.03 (chloroform/ethyl acetate/methanol = 15/5/1), (11) Color reaction: positive for Ehrlich's reagent (reddish purple) Assay Example Out of the compounds obtained as described above, TG101 and TG103 were assayed for their anti-microbial activity in vitro against Candida albicans, Cryptococcus neoformans, Aspergillus nigar and Aspergillus fumigatus as fungi to be tested, confirming their anti-fungal activities. In the following, examples of anti-fungal assays are described. In the assay were used the standard microbial strains supplied from Research Center for Eumyceta and Mycosis, Teikyo University, Japan as the test fungi, and Yeast Morphology Ager (DIFCO) as the medium for the drug sensitivity assays. Firstly, the given fungus was smeared on the potato-dextrose agar media (Nissui Seiyaku) slants, incubated at 30°C for 1 day (in the case of Candida albicans and Cryptococcus neoformans) or for 4 days (in the cases of Aspergillus nigar and Aspergillus fumigatus), and then the fungus grown on the slant was washed out with a sterilized physiological salt solution containing 0.1% Tween 80. The washed out fungus was passed through a filter with 15 µm bores, and, after the number of fungus was counted on the blood cell counting plate, a suspension containing 10 5 CFU/ml of fungus was prepared to be used as the inoculation solution. After this solution (0.02 ml) was inoculated to Yeast Morphology Ager containing a drug at concentrations in a serial double dilution, and cultured at 30°C for either 1 day or 4 days. Anti-fungal effects were estimated with naked eyes, and the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) was defined as the drug concentration at which the fugal growth was evidently inhibited as compared with that in the control medium not containing the drug. Table 1 shows the anti-fungal activity of TG101 and TG103 determined by the above assays. Fungus strain/drug MIC (µg/ml) TG101 TG103 C. albicans TIMM1623 100 100 C. neoformans TIMM0354 50 50 A. niger TIMM0113 50 100 A. fumigatus TIMM0063 50 25 <Isolation of Cryptoporic acid A (CA-A )> Fruit bodies (678 g) of Hounen-take were harvested in Makabe-cho, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan, in September, 1995, dried at room temperature, and then pulverized with a mixer. Pulverized fruit bodies (310 g) were extracted by immersing them in ethyl acetate (4l) at room temperature for 1 day. The same extraction procedure was repeated twice, and, after the extracts were analyzed for the ingredients by thin layer chromatography, they were combined. Then, this ethyl acetate extract (11 g) was subjected to silica gel column chromatography (silica gel, 110 g; 4.5 cm ID), and eluted with chloroform/ethyl acetate and chloroform/methanol. Of the six fractions thus obtained, the fraction (4.3 g) eluted with chloroform/methanol (90/10) was subjected to column chromatography on 10% water-containing silica gel (43 g: 3.0 cm ID, eluent: chloroform/methanol = 99/1 to 95/5). Then, fractions (1.9 g) containing TG101 and TG102 (eluted with chloroform/methanol = 98/2 to 97/3) were further fractionated by chromatography on a Sephadex LH-20 column (225 cc: 2.0 cm ID, eluent: methanol). Of fractions obtained, those containing TG101 and TG102 were concentrated in vacuo to dry, and a portion (560 mg) of the residue was subjected repeatedly to a column (60cc: 2.0 cm ID, eluent: water/methanol = 25/75 to 0/100) chromatography on Cosmosyl 75C 18 -OPN (Nakalai Tesue, Japan) to obtain cryptoporic acid A (CA-A, 31.6 mg) as white powder. A 500 MHz 1 H NMR spectrum (CDCl 3 ) of CA-A is shown in Figure 14, and its infrared absorption spectrum (KBr) in Figure 15. [Syntheses of Derivatives] <Synthesis of Oxidation Product of TG103 (TG103-OX)> To a solution of TG103 (120 mg: 0.2 mmol) in acetone (2 ml) were added a small amount of celite and then Jones reagent (100µl) dropwise under stirring in the ice cold. After stirring for 30 min at the same temperature, isopropanol (0.5 ml) was added to the reaction mixture to decompose the excessive reagent. To the reaction solution was added ether (20 ml), and precipitates formed were removed by filtration. After the filtrate was washed with water, the ether layer was dried over magnesium sulfate, and then the solvent was distilled off. Purification of the residue thus obtained by silica gel column chromatography (eluent: chloroform/methanol) yielded the oxidation derivative (80 mg) as white powder. A 1 H NMR spectrum (500 MHz, CDCl 3 ) of TG103-OX is shown in Figure 16, and its infrared absorption spectrum (KBr) in Fig. 17. <Synthesis of Cryptoporic Acid H (CA-H)> To a solution of TG103 (32 mg: 0.05 mmol) in ethanol (1 ml) was added 1N sodium hydroxide solution (1 ml), and the mixture was refluxed for 3 h. After the reaction was over, the reaction solution was diluted with water (4 ml), and washed with ethyl acetate (10 ml each) twice. Then, the aqueous layer was acidified with 1 N HCl, and extracted with ethyl acetate (10 ml each) twice. Combined extracts were successively washed with water and saturated sodium chloride solution, and then dried over magnesium sulfate. After the solvent was distilled off, the residue was purified by ODS column chromatography (COSMOSIL 75C 18 OPN: 2.0 cm ID , eluent: water/methanol = 30/70 to 0/100 ) to yield cryptoporic acid H (13 mg) as white powder. A 1 H NMR spectrum 500 MHz (CDCl 3 ) of CA-H is shown in Figure 18, and its infrared absorption spectrum (KBr) in Figure 19. MIC assay of cryptoporic acid H was carried out by the similar procedure as described above. The results are shown in Table 2. Fungus strain/drug MIC Cryptoporic acid H Candida albicans TIMM1623 200 µg/ml Saccharomyces cerevisiae JCM2216 200 µg/ml Aspergillus fumigatus TIMM0063 200 µg/ml Aspergillus niger TIMM0113 200 µg/ml <Synthesis of the Trimethyl Ester of Cryptoporic Acid H (CA-H-Me)> To a solution of TG101 (19 mg: 0.05 mmol) in ethanol (1 ml) was added 1 N sodium hydroxide solution (1 ml), and the reaction solution was refluxed for 2 h. After the reaction was over, the reaction solution was diluted with water (3 ml), and washed with ethyl acetate (5 ml each) twice. Then, the aqueous layer was acidified with 1 N HCl, and further extracted with ethyl acetate (5 ml each) twice. Combined extracts were successively washed with water and saturated sodium chloride solution. After dried over magnesium sulfate, the solvent was distilled off. The residue thus obtained was dissolved in methanol, and treated with diazomethane in ether. The solvents were distilled off from the reaction solution, and the residue was purified by silica gel column chromatography (eluent: n-hexane/ethyl acetate) to obtain the trimethyl ester derivative of CA-H (CA-H-Me) as white powder (7 mg). A 1 H NMR spectrum (500 MHz) (CDCl 3 ) of CA-H-Me is shown in Figure 20, and its infrared absorption spectrum (KBr) shown in Figure 21. <Methylation of TG101 and TG103> To a solution of TG101 (640mg: 1 mmol) in ether/methanol (4 ml/2 ml) was added a 10% solution of trimethylsilyl diazomethane in n-hexane (1.8 ml) dropwise under stirring in the ice cold, and the reaction solution was stirred at the same temperature for 30 min. After the solvent was distilled off, the residue was purified by silica gel column chromatography (20 g: 2.0 cm ID , eluent: n-hexane-ethyl acetate) to obtain the methyl ester derivative of TG101 (537 mg) as white powder. 1 H NMR spectrum 500 MHz (CDCl 3 ) of TG101-Me is shown in Figure 22, and its infrared absorption spectrum in Figure 23. On the other hand, as in the case of TG101, the methylation was carried out by adding 10% solution of trimethylsilyl diazomethane in n-hexane (0.6 ml) to a solution of TG103 (236 mg; 0.37 mmol) in ether/methanol (2 ml/2 ml). The reaction product was purified by silica gel column chromatography (silica gel, 5 g: 1.5 cm ID , eluent: n-hexane/ethyl acetate) to yield the methyl ester derivative of TG103 (TG103-Me, 220 mg) as white powder. A 500 MHz 1 H NMR spectrum (CDCl 3 ) of TG103-Me is shown in Figure 24, and its infrared absorption spectrum (KBr) in Figure 25. <Pivaloyloxymethylation of TG101 and TG103> TG101 (96 mg: 0.15 mmol) were dissolved in dichloromethane (1ml) and then added pivaloyloxymethyl chloride (43 µl: 0.3 mmol) and diisopropylethylamine (53 µl: 0.3 mmol) under stirring in the ice-cold, and the reaction mixture was stirred for 48 h at room temperature. After the addition of water (10 ml), the reaction mixture was extracted with ethyl acetate twice. Combined extracts were successively washed with 1 N hydrochloric acid, saturated sodium bicarbonate solution and saturated sodium chloride solution, and dried over magnesium sulfate. After the solvent was distilled off in vacuo, the residue was purified by silica gel column chromatography (silica gel, 6 g: 1.0 cm ID , eluent: chloroform/ethyl acetate) to obtain the pivaloyloxymethyl ester derivative of TG101 (TG101-POM, 40 mg) as white powder together with the recovery of unreacted starting material (17 mg). A 500 MHz 1 H NMR spectrum (CDCl 3 ) of TG101-POM is shown in Figure 26, and its infrared absorption spectrum (KBr) in Figure 27. On the other hand, as in the case of TG101, pivaloyloxymethyl chloride (70 µl: 0.48mmol) and diisopropylamine (84 µl: 0.48 mmol) were added to a solution of TG103 (128 mg: 0.2 mmol) in dichloromethane (1 ml). After the reaction was over, the reaction mixture was treated in the same way as in the case of TG101, and the product was purified by silica gel column chromatography (silica gel, 5 g; 1.0 cm ID ; eluent, chloroform/ethyl acetate ) to obtain the pivaloyloxymethylated derivative of TG103 (TG103-POM, 48 mg) as white powder with the recovery of unreacted starting material (19 mg). A 500 MHz 1 H NMR spectrum (CDCl 3 ) of TG103-POM is shown in Figure 28, and its infrared absorption spectrum (KBr) in Figure 29. <Synthesis of TG105> To a solution of TG101 (13 mg: 0.02 mmol) in methanol (1 ml) was added cerium (III) chloride heptahydrate (7.5 mg: 0.02 ml), and the reaction solution was stirred at room temperature for 20 min. After the end of the reaction was confirmed, the solvent was distilled off, and the residue was purified by silica gel column chromatography (eluent: chloroform/methanol) to obtain TG105 (13 mg) as white powder. A 500 MHz 1 H NMR spectrum (CDCl 3 ) of TG105 is shown in Figure 30, and its infrared absorption spectrum (KBr) in Figure 31. Industrial Applicability Novel sesquiterpene compounds of the present invention exhibit anti-fungal actions against eumycetes such as Candida albicans, and are useful as effective ingredients in anti-fungal drugs.

Claims: Sesquiterpene compounds represented by the following structural formula I: wherein one of the two R 1 groups present in said formula is -COOR 3 group, and the other one is any one of the groups represented by the following formulas, R 2 and R 3 groups are independently hydrogen atom, alkyl group or acyloxyalkyl group, and R 4 is hydroxyl group or alkoxy group: The sesquiterpene compounds according to Claim 1, wherein R 2 and R 3 are independently methyl groups, respectively. The sesquiterpene compounds according to Claim 1, wherein one or both of R 2 or R 3 is t-butyl carbonyloxymethyl group. The sesquiterpene compounds according to Claim 1, wherein R 4 is hydroxyl group or methoxy group. Use of compounds represented by the following structural formula II: wherein R 1 is -COOR 2 group (wherein R 2 is hydrogen atom, alkyl group or acyloxyalkyl group), or any one of the groups represented by the following structural formulas (wherein R 3 is hydroxyl group or alkoxy group) as antimicrobial agents: Use of compounds represented by the following structural formula III: wherein one of the two R 1 groups present in said formula is -COOR 3 group, and the other one is -COOH group or any one of the groups represented by the following structural formulas, wherein R 2 and R 3 are independently hydrogen atom, alkyl or acyloxyalkyl group, respectively, or both hydrogen atoms when said remaining one of R 1 is -COON group, and R 4 is hydroxyl group or alkoxy group as antimicrobial agents:

Inventors: MASUDA JUN-ICH, NOZOE SHIGEO, SUZUKI HIDEO, TAKAHASHI AKIRA, TANAKA KEN-ICHI, MASUDA, JUN-ICH, NOZOE, SHIGEO, SUZUKI, HIDEO, TAKAHASHI, AKIRA, TANAKA, KEN-ICHI
Applicants: TOAGOSEI CO LTD, TOAGOSEI CO., LTD.
Application year: 1996
Main classification: C07C69
IPC codes: C07D307, C07C69