Bioactive metabolites identified from Aspergillus terreus derived from soil

Aspergillus terreus has been reported to produce many bioactive metabolites that possess potential activities including anti-inflammatory, cytotoxic, and antimicrobial activities. In the present study, we report the isolation and identification of A. terreus from a collected soil sample. The metabolites existing in the microbial ethyl acetate extract were tentatively identified by HPLC/MS and chemically categorized into alkaloids, terpenoids, polyketides, γ-butyrolactones, quinones, and peptides. In addition, a new triglyceride (1) and a diketopiperazine derivative namely asterrine (4), together with two known butyrolactone (2–3) were purified from the extract. The chemical skeleton of the purified compounds was established by comprehensive analysis of their ESI/MS, 1 and 2D-NMR data. The extract and compounds 3,4 exhibited a strong inhibitory activity for the binding of ACE2 to SARS-CoV-2 spike-protein receptor with IC(50) 7.4, 9.5, and 8.5 µg/mL, respectively. In addition, the extract, 1 and 2 displayed a potent anti-inflammatory effect with IC(50) 51.31 and 37.25 pg/mL (Il-6) and 87.97, 68.22 pg/mL (TNF-α), respectively, in comparison to LPS control. In addition, the extract and compound 4 displayed an antimicrobial effect towards S. aureus by MIC 62.5 and 125 μg/mL, while the extract exhibited a potent effect against C. albicans (MIC of 125 μg/mL). Collectively, our data introduce novel bioactivities for the secondary metabolites produced by the terrestrial fungus Aspergillus terreus. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13568-023-01612-0.