Two previously undescribed phthalides from Talaromyces amestolkiae , a symbiotic fungus of Syngnathus acus .

Amestolkins A ( 1 ) and B ( 2 ), two previously undescribed phthalides sharing the same planar structure of (1, 5-dihydroxyhexyl)-7-hydroxyisobenzofuran-1(3 H )-one were isolated from Talaromyces amestolkiae . Their absolute configurations were elucidated by comprehensive analyses of spectroscopic evidences in high-resolution electrospray mass spectra (HRESIMS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) combined with electronic circular dichroism (ECD) and NMR calculations. 1 and 2 showed anti-neuroinflammatory activity by inhibiting the gene expressions of proinflammatory factors including C-C motif chemokine ligand 2 (CCL-2), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin 6 (IL-6), as well as attenuating the excretion of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in BV-2 microglial cells at the concentration of 30 μM.