Funiculin, a fungal metabolite

Abstract

A circulating evaporator was built for the concentration of large quantities of aqueous solutions, and the use of this in the extraction of the phenolic fraction from the culture fluid of Aspergillus funiculosus is described. A comparison of the efficiency of extraction of material from the unconcentrated and concentrated culture fluid was done. Further investigations on the structure of funiculin, involving an examination of the fully methylated product from dihydrofuniculin, were done. A 5-hydroxy, 1:4 naphthoquinone structure containing a heterocyclic ring is postulated for funiculin.