Paulomenol B

O-Demethylpaulomycin A (C33H44N2O17S), O-demethylpaulomycin B (C32H42N2O17S), paulomenol A (C29H43NO16), paulomenol B (C28H41NO16), and the hydrogen sulfide adducts of paulomycin A (U-77,802, C34H48N2O17S2), and paulomycin B (U-77,803, C33H46N2O17S2) have been isolated from fermentations of Streptomyces paulus strain 273. The structure of these compounds was determined by 1H and 13C NMR and fast atom bombardment mass spectrum spectroscopic techniques and degradative studies. The antibacterial properties of these new metabolites, which are related to paulomycins A and B (J. Antibiotics 35: 285-294, 1982), are briefly discussed.

Four novel paulomycin derivatives have been isolated from S. albus J1074 grown in MFE culture medium. These compounds are structural analogs of antibiotics 273a2α and 273a2β containing a thiazole moiety, probably originated through an intramolecular Michael addition. The novel, thiazole, moiety-containing paulomycins show a lower antibiotic activity than paulomycins A and B against Gram-positive bacteria. However, two of them show an improved activity against Gram-negative bacteria. In addition, the four novel compounds are more stable in culture than paulomycins A and B. Thus, the presence of an N-acetyl-l-cysteine moiety linked to the carbon atom of the paulic acid isothiocyanate moiety, via a thioester bond, and the subsequent intramolecular cyclization of the paulic acid to generate a thiazole heterocycle confer to paulomycins a higher structural stability that otherwise will conduce to paulomycin degradation and into inactive paulomenols.