Bioactive sorbicillinoid derivatives from an endophytic fungus Trichoderma citrinoviride

Three new sorbicillinoid derivatives, citrinsorbicillinol A-C (1-3), along with three known compounds, such as trichosorbicillin G (4), dibutyl phthalate (5), and 3-(4-methoxyphenyl) propanoic acid (6), were isolated from the endophyte Trichoderma citrinoviride of Coptis chinensis. Their structures were elucidated through extensive analyses of spectroscopic data, computer-assisted structure elucidation (ACD/Structure Elucidator), density functional theory (DFT) calculations of the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra, and electronic circular dichroism (ECD). Biologically, compounds 1-4 exhibited potential antioxidant activity, as assessed using the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay, with IC₅₀ values ranging from 27.8 to 89.6 μM. In particular, compounds 2 and 3 demonstrated radical scavenging activity comparable to that of the positive control, ascorbic acid, with IC₅₀ values of 27.8 and 31.2 μM, respectively. Moreover, compound 1 exhibited potential anti-inflammatory activity by inhibiting nitric oxide (NO) production in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced RAW 264.7 macrophages, with an IC₅₀ value of 52.7 μM. These findings underscore the therapeutic potential of the new sorbicillinoid derivatives for antioxidant and anti-inflammatory applications.