Antifungal compounds from Anarcadium occidentale

The nutshell oil of Anacardium occidentale, commonly known as kasoy afforded mixtures of anacardic acids and cardols in varying degrees of unsaturation. Their structures were elucidated by extensive 1D and 2D NMR and high resolution mass spectrometry. The anacardic acids were identified as 1a (50%), 1b (17%) and 1c (33%), while the cardols were identified as 2a (80%) and 2b (20%). Small amounts (\u3c1%) of mono-, di- and triunsaturated seventeen-carbon side-chain analogues of sample 1, and bilobol, the monounsaturated analog of sample 2, were also observed by mass spectrometry. The mixture of 1a, 1b, and 1c indicated slight activity against E. coli and P. aeruginosa and moderate activity against S. aureus, B. subtilis, C. albicans, T. mentagrophytes and A. niger. The mixture of 2a, and 2b indicated slight activity against P. aeruginosa and C. albicans, moderate activity against B. subtilis and T. mentagrophytes, and high activity against A. niger