5-(2'-oxoheptadecyl)-resorcinol and 5-(2'-oxononadecyl)-resorcinol, cytotoxic metabolites from a wood-inhabiting basidiomycete.

5-(2'-oxoheptadecyl)-resorcinol [structure: see text] and 5-(2'-oxononadecyl)-resorcinol [structure: see text] were isolated from fermentations of an imperfect basidiomycete. The structures of the compounds were determined by spectroscopic techniques. Both compounds exhibit cytotoxic effects against the human colon tumor cell lines COLO-320, DLD-1 and HT-29 and the human promyeloid leukemia cell line HL-60, the human leukemia T cell JURKAT, the human hepatocellular carcinoma cell line HEP-G2 as well as the J774 mouse macrophage cell line. The compounds induce morphological and physiological differentiation of HL-60 cells into granulocytes, which subsequently die by apoptosis. Both compounds show no antibacterial and antifungal activity.