1981 Volume 34 Issue 12 Pages 1556-1561
Xanthocillin X monomethyl ether, known as an antiviral antibiotic, was isolated as a potent inhibitor of ichotomomyces cejpii. The compound inhibited prostaglandin synthesis from 14C-arachidonic acid in rabbit kidney microsomes by 50% at a concentration of 0.2 μM, while prostaglandin synthesis by microsomes of ram seminal vesicle was inhibited by 50% at 20 μM. The inhibition by xanthocillin X monomethyl ether was reversible. Of the enzymatic steps involved in the synthesis of prostaglandins and thromboxanes tested, conversion of arachidonic acid into prostaglandin H2 was specifically inhibited by xanthocillin X monomethyl ether. Anti-inflammatory activity of this antibiotic on carrageenan-induced oedema in the rat foot was, however, not detectable.