Occurrence of Eburicoic Acid

Abstract

IN the course of extensive studies on the metabolic products formed by the higher fungi, mainly of the class Basidiomycetes, grown on synthetic media, we examined a sample of decayed Eucalyptus regnans wood discovered at the Australian Newsprint Mills, Boyer, Tasmania, in 1944. From this mass of rotted wood encompassed with mycelial hyphæ, the acetyl derivative of a monobasic acid has been isolated. On hydrolysis this acetate (m.p. 256–257° ; [α]²⁰_D + 35.8° (c, 3.1 in pyridine); found: C, 75.9; H, 10.1 per cent; molec. wt. (Rast), 455; C₂₉H₄₆O₄ requires C, 76.0; H, 10.1 per cent; molec. wt. 458) gave rise to the parent acid (m.p. 293°, [α]¹⁷_D + 35.6° (c, 1.4 in pyridine); found: C, 77.9; H, 10.5; C₂₇H₄₄O₃ requires C, 77.9; H, 10.6 per cent), which appears to be a C₂₇- and not the more usual C₃₀- type of the triterpene group, examples of which are known to occur in naturally grown Polyporos betulinus Fr.¹.