SECONDARY METABOLITES BY CHEMICAL-SCREENING .28. ASPINONENE, A NEW MULTIFUNCTIONAL FUNGAL METABOLITE

A new C-9 epoxide named aspinonene (1) was bound by chemical screening in the culture broth of Aspergillus ochraceus (strain FH-A 6692). Its structure was deduced from spectroscopic data as well as from an X-ra y analysis of the dibromobenzoate of 1. The configuration of C-2 was f urther verified by esterification of the ketone 4 with chiral acids (H elmchen's method). The reactivity of the functional groups was studied by acylation, silylation, ketalization, and oxidation. Due to the div ersity of its functional groups and the neighbouring centres of chiral ity 1 is discussed as a secondary metabolite suited as a building bloc k for synthesis.