Five phenolic compounds, 4-hydroxybenzoic acid methyl ester (1), vanillic acid methyl ester (2), 4-hydroxy benzaldehyde (3), 4-hydroxybenzoic acid (4) and ferulic acid (5), and four flavonoids, 5,5Ј-dihydroxy-4Ј,6,7-trimethoxyflavanone (6), luteolin (7), vitexicarpin (8) and artemetin (9), were isolated from fruits and leaves of Vitex rotundifolia L. The biological activities of these nine compounds have been examined using a bioassay with lettuce seedlings.

Aspterric acid (1) and 6-hydroxymellein (2), inhibitors of pollen development in Arabidopsis thaliana, have been isolated fromthe fungus Aspergillus terreus. 1 and 2 inhibited the pollen development at concentrations of 38 and 52 μᴍ, respectively. The microscopic examination of pollen development suggested that the inhibition by the treatment with 1 caused at meiosis and the inhibition by the treatment with 2 caused at microspore stage. 1 and 2 could be useful agents for the molecular investigation of anther and pollen development in higher plants.

Root growth promoters, 4-hydroxykigelin (1) and 6-demethylkigelin (2), together with 6- hydroxymellein (3) were isolated from cultures of the fungus Aspergillus terreus and their structures were identified by spectroscopic analysis. The biological activities of the three dihydroisocoumarins, 1, 2, and 3, have been examined using a bioassay method with lettuce seedlings. Furthermore, interactions between the dihydroisocoumarins and indole-3-acetic acid against the root growth have been examined.