A revised structure for (-)-dihydropertusaric acid, a γ-butyrolactone acid from the lichen Punctelia microsticta

The gamma-butyrolactone acid (1) and two known compounds, (-)-isomuronic acid and the tridepside gyrophoric acid, have been isolated from the lichen Punctelia microsticta. The structure and stereochemistry of compound 1 were determined on the basis of spectroscopic evidence and molecular modeling. Spectroscopic and physical data of I and (-)-dihydropertusaric acid, previously isolated from the lichen Pertusaria albescens, showed that both are the same compound, although for the latter the epimeric structure 2 has been proposed.