Phenylpyropene C, a new inhibitor of acyl-CoA: cholesterol acyltransferase produced by Penicillium griseofulvum F1959.

Acyl-CoA: cholesterol acyltransferase (ACAT, EC 2.3.1.26) is responsible for intracellular esterification of cholesterol and plays a key role in intestinal absorption of cholesterol, hepatic production of lipoproteins1,2) and accumulation of cholesteryl esters within macrophages and smooth muscle cells of the atheroma3). Therefore, ACAT is an attractive target for new treatments of hypercholesterolemia and atherosclerosis4). In the course of our search for ACAT inhibitors from microbial sources, phenylpyropene C was isolated from the fermentation broth of Penicillium griseofulvum F1959. It was deposited in the Korean Collection for Type Culture (KCTC), Korea, as KCTC 0387BP. The fungal strain F1959 was originally isolated from a soil sample collected at Ulsan, Korea. Taxonomic studies of the strain were carried out by the method of Samson5). Czapek's medium (0.2% NaNO3, 0.1% K2HPO4, 0.05%