STRUCTURAL ELUCIDATION OF NEW PHENOLIC GLYCOLIPIDS FROM MYCOBACTERIUM-TUBERCULOSIS

From one clinical isolate of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, two new pheno lic glycolipids(PGLs) were obtained as its major PGLs. These were dimy cocerosyl esters of 2,4-di-O-methyl-fucopyranosyl-(alpha 1 --> 3)-rham nopyranosyl-(alpha 1 --> 3)-2-O-methyl-rhamnopyranosyl-(alpha 1 -->)-p henolphthiocerol A and -phenolphthiotriol A, which were produced by th is strain at a ratio of about 5:1. Another clinical isolate of this sp ecies was found to produce PGL-tb1 and its analogue, 2,3,4-tri-O-methy l-fucopyranosyl-(alpha 1 --> 3)-rhamnopyranosyl-(alpha 1 --> 3)-2-O-me thyl-rhamnopyranosyl-(alpha 1 -->)-phenolphthiotriol A at a ratio of a bout 1:3. The fact that different strains of M. tuberculosis produce c hemically different PGLs as their major PGLs may be related to the div ersity of virulence of the clinical isolates of M. tuberculosis.