Hexaene H-85, a hexaene macrolide complex.

The hexaene macrolide antibiotics constitute the smallest group of the polyenes (12 ~ 1 5). Mediocidin, endomycin, hexaene H-85 and hexafungin each have a significant tetraene spectrum in addition to a hexaene spectrum (hexaene spectrum being predominant) and show high activity against fungi and moderate against Gram-positive bacteria. It was not possible to isolate the separate tetraene and hexaene componentsfrom the complex1}. The antibiotic producing strain earlier named Actinomyces sp. 468 was identified as a strain of Streptomyces hygroscopicus2). The strain has been deposited in the culture collection of the Faculty of Chemistry, Belgrade. The strain was isolated from a soil sample from Vojvodina, Yugoslavia. The%fermentation was carried out in a fermenter (model Churchil, L. H. Engineering Co., Ltd.,