Antiplasmodial lanostanes from the Ganoderma lucidum mushroom

In a screen of 880 extracts from plants and fungi for antiplasmodial, antitrypanosomal, and leishmanicidal activity, an ethyl acetate extract of the mushroom Ganoderma lucidum showed antiplasmodial activity with 79% inhibition at 4.9 microg/mL. HPLC-based activity profiling and subsequent isolation of the antiplasmodial compounds yielded seven lanostanes (1-7), of which three (2, 3, and 7) were new. A new benzofuran derivative (8) of the farnesyl hydroquinone ganomycin B was also identified. The structures and relative configurations of the new compounds were elucidated by comprehensive spectroscopic analysis and by comparison of their NMR data with those of related compounds. The lanostanes exhibited in vitro antiplasmodial activity with IC(50) values from 6 to greater than 20 microM.