Polygodial antifungal activity

Besides warburganal (1), muzigadial (2) and polygodial (3), none of the other sesquiterpenoids (4-11) isolated, showed any noticeable antifungal activity up to 100 /jg/ml, although they were all isolated from the active fractions. Nevertheless, most of the purified sesquiterpenoids were tested against eleven additional microorganisms. The results are listed in Table 1. 

Table 2. Antifungal activity of polygodial (3) in combination with MMIC of phenylpropanoids (15-10).

I. Kubo, Synergistic effect of polygodial on antifungal activity. Drug News Persp., 2 (1989) 292-295. 

The antifungal sesquiterpene dialdehydes polygodial and warburganal, from Polygonum hydropiper, were determined by HPLC on an ODS column using methanol-H2O as a mobile phase. These sesquiterpene dialdehydes were accumulated in young leaves and shoots and possessed antifungal activity. 

The potent biological activity (insect antifeedant, antitumour, antifungal) of warburganal (35) has stimulated considerable synthetic interest in this compound. Three total syntheses of this compound have been recorded in the period under review. " The synthesis by Tanis and Nakanishi has additional flexibility since the key intermediate diol (34) can be used in the syntheses of cinnamolide (36), drimenin (37), and polygodial (38). Both norisoambreinolide (39 R = O) and isoambrox (39 R = H2) have been synthesized from (40), the product of the stannic chloride-catalysed cyclization of farnesyl phenyl sulphone. Yahazunol (41), a bicyclofarnesyl hydroquinone, has been identified in the brown seaweed... 

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