A 3-Vinyl cephem derivative, a useful intermediate in the synthesis of cepham antibiotics, from aspergillus awamori associated with banana fruit

Abstract

Aspergillus awamori was isolated from a diseased banana fruit, Musa acuminata cv. Ambul. The fungus was fermented in potato dextrose broth and on potato dextrose agar media and the fungal media were extracted with EtOAc. Chromatographic separation of the EtOAc extracts furnished 4-methoxybenzyl 7- phenylacetamido-3-vinyl-3-cephem-4-carboxylate (1), along with three naphtho-×-pyrones, flavasperone (2), foncesinone A (3) and aurasperone A (4), and three alkaloids, aspernigrin A (5), pestalamide C (6) and nigragillin (7). Compound 1, a known key intermediate in the chemical synthesis of cepham antibiotics, was isolated from a natural source for the first time. Compound 1 is the first 3-vinyl cephem derivative of microbial origin.