UV-guided screening of benzodiazepine producing species in Penicillium

The benzodiazepine sclerotigenin (auranthine B) recently described as a met abolite of Penicillium sclerotigenum, has been isolated as the major metabo lite from an isolate of P. commune. The structure of sclerotigenin was esta blished by a single-crystal X-ray diffraction study and by NMR spectroscopy , UV-guided screening for benzodiazepine production by other penicillia rev ealed that sclerotigenin was also produced by isolates of P. clavigerum, P. lanosum, P. melanoconidium, P. sclerotigenum and P. verrucosum. Sclerotige nin was detected both intra- and extracellularly, Apparently, P. aurantiogr iseum is the only auranthine producing species in genus Penicillium. (C) 20 00 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.