Guanacastane Diterpenoids from the Plant Endophytic Fungus Cercospora sp.

Cercosporenes A–F (1–6, respectively), six new guanacastane diterpenes, including a homodimer (5) and a heterodimer (6), were isolated from the crude extract of the fungus Cercospora sp., endophytic to the medicinal plant Fallopia japonica. The structures of 1–6 were elucidated by nuclear magnetic resonance experiments, and 4 and 5 were further confirmed by X-ray crystallography. The absolute configuration of 1 and 3 was assigned by electronic circular dichroism calculations, whereas that of 6 was deduced by the application of the circular dichroism exciton chirality method. In addition to its cytotoxicity against a panel of five human tumor cell lines, HeLa, A549, MCF-7, HCT116, and T24, heterodimer 6 also induced autophagy in HCT116 cells.