Novel phenylacetate derivatives isolated from the fungus Penicillium canescens

Two undescribed phenylacetate derivatives (compounds 1 and 2) with a known analog were isolated from a soil-derived fungus Penicillium canescens through the “one strain-many compounds” method. The new structures were assigned using extensive 1D and 2D NMR spectra, high-resolution electrospray ionization mass spectrometry, and the comparison of coupling cleavages of known compounds, which are two pairs of racemic mixtures of aromatic polyketides with a terminal butan-2,3-diol group. In the bioassay, the biological screening signifies no cytotoxic activities against several human cancer cell lines (HL-60, A549, SMMC-7721, MCF-7, and SW480) at a concentration of 40.0 µM.