SUBSTANCES PRODUCED BY FUNGI 213 



C17H10N2O2, with an m.p. of 220° C. j it appears in the mycelium after 

 5 weeks' incubation and has certain antibiotic properties (108). 



Penicidin was isolated (29) from a species of PenkilUum. It is 

 soluble in ether, alcohol, chloroform, and dilute acids, but not in petrol 

 ether. It is destroyed by bases, and is adsorbed on active charcoal. It is 

 similar to aspergillic acid in its antiluminescent properties. It is active 

 against E. tyfhosa. 



Chaetomin is produced by a species of Chaetomium {Ch. cochliodes) 

 grown in complex organic media. It is active largely against gram-posi- 

 tive bacteria (948). Much larger concentrations of the material are 

 found in the mycelium of the organism than in the culture filtrate j it 

 is extracted from the former with acetone and from the latter with 

 ethyl acetate. It is purified by washing with sodium carbonate, treated 

 with petroleum ether, followed by chromatographic absorption. Chae- 

 tomin contains nitrogen and sulfur, but it differs in biological activity 

 from penicillin and from gliotoxin (326). 



Kojic acid (Figure 18) is produced by various species {A. oryzae and 

 A. efusus). It possesses definite, even if limited, antibacterial proper- 

 ties and is more active against gram-negative than gram-positive bac- 

 teria j its antibiotic activity is not inhibited by serum (150, 465). It is 

 particularly active against species of Leftos-pira (660). 



Polyporin is produced by Polystktus sanguineus grown for two to 

 three weeks in various synthetic media. It is present in both the culture 

 filtrate and the sporophores of the fungus. It is water soluble, and is ac- 

 tive (bacteriolytic) against various gram-negative {E. tyfhosa^ V. 

 comma) and gram-positive (6". aureus^ bacteria. It is nontoxic and 

 nonhemolytic (77). Its activity is not affected by oral administration, 

 by passage through a Seitz filter, or by pus and other body fluids and 

 tissues. It protected animals against V . comma and E. tyfhosa infec- 

 tions, and neutralized typhoid vaccine (77a). 



Mycophenolic acid is produced by P. brevi-com factum. It was so 

 named by Alsberg and Black (16) in 1913, although it was first iso- 

 lated by Gosio in 1 896 and is said (268) to be the first antibiotic to have 

 'been crystallized. It has only limited activity upon certain gram-posi- 

 tive bacteria, but it has a considerable effect in inhibiting the growth of 



