Anti-inflammatory phomalichenones from an endolichenic fungus Phoma sp

Four new compounds, phomalichenones A–D ( 1 – 4 ), and seven known compounds ( 5 – 11 ) were isolated from the cultures of an endolichenic fungus Phoma sp. EL002650. Their structures were determined by the analysis of their spectroscopic data (NMR and MS). Compounds 1 and 6 inhibited nitric oxide (NO) production in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages. In addition, compound 1 diminished the protein expression levels of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), and decreased the mRNA expression levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as tumor necrosis factor- α (TNF- α ), interleukin(IL)-1 β , and IL-6.