Abstract
Five ergostanes, dimethylincisterol (1), 5α,8α–epidioxy-(22E,24R)-ergosta-6,9(11),22-trien-3β-ol (2), 5α,8α–epidioxy-(22E,24R)-ergosta-6,22-dien-3β-ol (3), 5α,6α-epoxy-(22E,24R)-ergosta-8(14),22-diene-3β,7α-diol (4), (22E,24R)-ergosta-7,22-diene-3β,5α,6β-triol (5) and betulinic acid (6) were isolated from the fresh fruiting bodies of the edible mushroom, Termitomyces microcarpus. The cytotoxicity of the compounds isolated was evaluated against the NCI 60 human cancer cell line panel. The degraded sterol dimethylincisterol (1) and 5α,8α–epidioxyergosta-6,22-dien-3β-ol (3) possessed cytotoxic activity at the 1 µM level.