Ghanaian Mangrove Wetland Endophytic Fungus, Penicillium herquei strain BRS2A-AR produces (9Z, 11E)-13-oxooctadeca-9,11-dienoic acid with activity against Trichomonas mobilensis

Sub-Sahara Africa is burdened with a high incidence of parasitic infections, including schistosomiasis, trypanosomiasis, trichomoniasis, and leishmaniasis. Currently, there is a rapid widespread development of resistance to prescription drugs for these neglected diseases. Microbes provide the largest chemical and biological diversity in drug discovery screening programs; therefore, our project seeks to explore microbes in the sub-region for new drugs. The oxylipin (9Z,11E)-13-oxooctadeca-9,11-dienoic acid (1) was isolated from the Ghanaian endophytic fungus, Penicillium herquei strain BRS2A-AR obtained from the leaves of a Laguncularia racemosa tree growing on the banks of the River Butre in the Western Regional wetlands of Ghana. Compound 1 was isolated on reverse phase HPLC at t_R of 34.3 minutes. The structure of compound 1 was confirmed by a combination of mass spectrometry, 1D and 2D-NMR techniques. Compound 1 showed minimal antiparasitic activity when tested against Plasmodium falciparum 3d7 (IC₅₀>100µM; aretesunate, IC₅₀ 36nm), Trypanosoma brucei brucei (IC₅₀>100µM; Coptis japonica, IC₅₀ 8.20µM), Leishmani donovani (IC₅₀>100µM; amphotericin B, IC₅₀ 0.32µM) and Leishmania major (IC₅₀>100µM; amphotericin B, IC₅₀ 0.31µM). Compound 1 produced IC₅₀ of 44.47µM when tested against Trichomonas mobilensis with metronidazole (IC₅₀ 5.20µM) as standard. These results show the potential to further engineer the structure of compound 1 into a potent anti-Trichomonas scaffold.