Ecdysteroid constituents of the mushroom Tapinella panuoides

Ecdysteroids, compounds structurally related to the insect moulting hormone ecdysone, were isolated from the mushroom Tapinella panuoides. Paxilloster one and two further new ergostane-type ecdysteroids, panuosterone and 25-hy droxypanuosterone, together with the already known cholestane-type ecdyster oids, 20-hydroxyecdysone, ponasterone A, malacosterone and turkesterone wer e identified by NMR, IR and mass spectrometric methods. The taxonomic value of ecdysteroids for chemosystematics in fungi and particularly in the gene ra Paxillus and Tapinella, is discussed. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.