ISOLATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF LUTEOSKYRIN AND RUGULOSIN, 2 HEPATOTOXIC ANTHRAQUINONOIDS FROM PENICILLIUM-ISLANDICUM SOPP AND PENICILLIUM-RUGULOSUM THOM

Luteoskyrin and its stereoisomer rugulosin, 2 hepatotoxic and carcinogenic hydroxyanthraquinonoids, were extracted from their respective fungus strains, i.e., P. islandicum and P. rugulosum, cultivated on synthetic Czapek-Dox medium. An improved procedure for purification of luteoskyrin (several grams) and a new method for rapid isolation of large amounts of rugulosin using Sephadex LH 20 as chromatographic adsorbent are related in detail. From the yields obtained, it is concluded that both noxious mycotoxins are present at high concentration inside the respective strain cells (i.e., about 5% with respect to the total dry mycelium). Luteoskyrin and rugulosin are characterized by their spectroscopic properties; in the 2nd part of this work, IR, 1H NMR, UV-visible light absorption, circular dichroism and mass spectrometric data are reported and discussed from the structural point of view.