Phoma-like fungi are known as producers of diverse spectrum of secondary metabolites, including phytotoxins. Our bioassays had shown that extracts of Paraphoma sp. VIZR 1.46, a pathogen of Cirsium arvense, are phytotoxic. In this study, two phytotoxically active metabolites were isolated from Paraphoma sp. VIZR 1.46 liquid and solid cultures and identified as curvulin and phaeosphaeride A, respectively. The latter is reported also for the first time as a fungal phytotoxic product with potential herbicidal activity. Both metabolites were assayed for phytotoxic, antimicrobial and zootoxic activities. Curvulin and phaeosphaeride A were tested on weedy and agrarian plants, fungi, Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, and on paramecia. Curvulin was shown to be weakly phytotoxic, while phaeosphaeride A caused severe necrotic lesions on all the tested plants. To evaluate phaeosphaeride A’s herbicidal efficacy, the phytotoxic activity of this compound in combination with five different adjuvants was studied. Hasten at 0.1% (v/v) was found to be the most potent and compatible adjuvant, and its combination with 0.5% (v/v) semi-purified extract of Paraphoma sp. VIZR 1.46 solid culture exhibited maximum damage to C. arvense plants. These findings may offer significant importance for further investigation of herbicidal potential of phaeosphaeride A and possibly in devising new herbicide of natural origin.

The asymmetric unit of the title compound, C15H23NO5, contains two independent mol­ecules. Phaeosphaeride A contains two primary sections, an alkyl chain consisting of five C atoms and a cyclic system consisting of fused five- and six-membered rings with attached substituents. In the crystal, the mol­ecules form layered structures. Nearly planar sheets, parallel to the (001) plane, form bilayers of two-dimensional hydrogen-bonded networks with the hy­droxy groups located on the inter­ior of the bilayer sheets. The network is constructed primarily of four O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds, which form a zigzag pattern in the (001) plane. The butyl chains inter­digitate with the butyl chains on adjacent sheets. The crystal was twinned by a twofold rotation about the c axis, with refined major–minor occupancy fractions of 0.718 (6):0.282 (6).

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