Huzefa A. Raja

  • Research Scientist
  • Chemistry and Biochemistry, UNCG

There are 72 included publications by Huzefa A. Raja :

TitleDateViewsBrief Description
a-Pyrone Derivatives, Tetra/Hexahydroxanthones, and Cyclodepsipeptides from Two Freshwater Fungi 2017 1342 Eighteen (1–18) and seven (1, 4, 6–8, 17 and 18) compounds were isolated from organic extracts of axenic cultures of two freshwater fungi Clohesyomyces sp. and Clohesyomyces aquaticus (Dothideomycetes, Ascomycota), respectively. Compounds 1–12 belong...
Acetophenone Derivatives from a Freshwater Fungal Isolate of Recently Described Lindgomyces Madisonensis (G416) 2016 1422 The exploration of freshwater ascomycetes, which have undergone only limited investigation, may provide opportunities both to characterize new genera/species of fungi and to uncover new chemical diversity. In this study, seven acetophenone derivative...
Additional alpha-glucosidase inhibitors from Malbranchea flavorosea (Leotiomycetes, Ascomycota) 2018 333 From the rice-based culture of Malbranchea flavorosea, three new compounds namely flavoroseoside B (5-desoxy-5-chloro-flavoroseoside) (2), 4-hydroxy-2-O-a-ribofuranosyl-5-methylacetophenone (3), and (S)-3,4-dihydro-3-(1H-indol-3-ylmethyl)-4-methyl-1H...
Additions to Lindgomyces (Lindgomycetaceae, Pleosporales, Dothideomycetes), Including Two New Species Occurring on Submerged Wood from North Carolina, USA, with Notes on Secondary Metabolite Profiles 2017 1539 Two new species of freshwater ascomycetes belonging to the genus Lindgomyces (Pleosporales, Dothideomycetes) are described and illustrated from submerged wood in North Carolina, USA. Lindgomyces carolinensis is characterized by immersed to erumpent a...
Antimicrobial Fungal Endophytes from the Botanical Medicine Goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis) 2016 1554 The potential of fungal endophytes to alter or contribute to plant chemistry and biology has been the topic of a great deal of recent interest. For plants that are used medicinally, it has been proposed that endophytes might play an important role in...
Apicidin Attenuates MRSA Virulence through Quorum-Sensing Inhibition and Enhanced Host Defense 2019 554 Recurrent epidemics of drug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus illustrate the rapid lapse of antibiotic efficacy following clinical implementation. Over the last decade, community-associated methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) has emerged as a domina...
Benzoquinones and Terphenyl Compounds As Phosphodiesterase-4B Inhibitors from a Fungus of the Order Chaetothyriales (MSX 47445) 2013 1951 Three bioactive compounds were isolated from an organic extract of an ascomycete fungus of the order Chaetothyriales (MSX 47445) using bioactivity-directed fractionation as part of a search for anticancer leads from filamentous fungi. Of these, two w...
Biochemometrics for Natural Products Research: Comparison of Data Analysis Approaches and Application to Identification of Bioactive Compounds 2016 1380 [The original abstract for this article contains images that cannot be displayed here. Please click on the link below to read the full abstract and article.]
Biosynthesis of Fluorinated Peptaibols Using a Site-Directed Building Block Incorporation Approach 2017 1152 Synthetic biological approaches, such as site-directed biosynthesis, have contributed to the expansion of the chemical space of natural products, making possible the biosynthesis of unnatural metabolites that otherwise would be difficult to access. S...
Biosynthetically Distinct Cytotoxic Polyketides from Setophoma terrestris 2015 752 Sixteen polyketides belonging to diverse structural classes, including monomeric/dimeric tetrahydroxanthones and resorcylic acid lactones, were isolated from an organic extract of a fungal culture Setophoma terrestris (MSX45109) by bioactivity-direct...
Characterizing the Pathogenic, Genomic, and Chemical Traits of Aspergillus fischeri, a Close Relative of the Major Human Fungal Pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus 2019 581 Aspergillus fischeri is closely related to Aspergillus fumigatus, the major cause of invasive mold infections. Even though A. fischeri is commonly found in diverse environments, including hospitals, it rarely causes invasive disease. Why A. fischeri ...
Chemical composition and biological effects of kratom (Mitragyna speciosa): In vitro studies with implications for efficacy and drug interactions 2020 1307 The safety and efficacy of kratom (Mitragyna speciosa) for treatment of pain is highly controversial. Kratom produces more than 40 structurally related alkaloids, but most studies have focused on just two of these, mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynin...
Chemoselective fluorination and chemoinformatic analysis of griseofulvin: Natural vs fluorinated fungal metabolites 2017 1211 [2017-2018 UNCG University Libraries Open Access Publishing Fund Grant Winner.] Griseofulvin is a fungal metabolite and antifungal drug used for the treatment of dermatophytosis in both humans and animals. Recently, griseofulvin and its analogues hav...
Comparison of the chemistry and diversity of endophytes isolated from wild-harvested and greenhouse-cultivated yerba mansa (Anemopsis californica) 2015 1636 With this study, we explored the identity and chemistry of fungal endophytes from the roots of yerba mansa [Anemopsis californica (Nutt.) Hook. & Arn. (Saururaceae)], a botanical traditionally used to treat infection. We compared the diversity of fun...
Considerations and consequences of allowing DNA sequence data as types of fungal taxa 2018 461 Nomenclatural type definitions are one of the most important concepts in biological nomenclature. Being physical objects that can be re-studied by other researchers, types permanently link taxonomy (an artificial agreement to classify biological dive...
Coumarins, dihydroisocoumarins, a dibenzo-a-pyrone, a meroterpenoid, and a merodrimane from Talaromyces amestolkiae 2021 628 Chemical investigation of an organic extract of a fungus isolated from submerged wood collected from fresh water (strain G173), identified as a Talaromyces amestolkiae (Eurotiales; Trichocomaceae), led to the isolation of three coumarins, three dihyd...
Cytotoxic and antimicrobial drimane meroterpenoids from a fungus of the Stictidaceae (Ostropales, Ascomycota) 2021 586 As part of our ongoing research on bioactive fungal metabolites, two new metabolites were isolated from a fungus of the Stictidaceae (strain MSX62440), dasyscyphins F and G (1 and 3), along with the known dasyscyphin C (2). Compound 1 was characteriz...
Delitpyrones: a-Pyrone Derivatives from a Freshwater Delitschia sp. 2018 1425 In research focused on the discovery of new chemical diversity from freshwater fungi, a peak library was built and evaluated against a prostate cancer cell line, E006AA-hT, which was derived from an African American, as this population is disproporti...
Dereplicating and Spatial Mapping of Secondary Metabolites from Fungal Cultures in Situ 2015 1738 Ambient ionization mass spectrometry techniques have recently become prevalent in natural product research due to their ability to examine secondary metabolites in situ. These techniques retain invaluable spatial and temporal details that are lost th...
Dereplication of Fungal Metabolites by NMR-Based Compound Networking Using MADByTE 2022 1019 Strategies for natural product dereplication are continually evolving, essentially in lock step with advances in MS and NMR techniques. MADByTE is a new platform designed to identify common structural features between samples in complex extract libra...
Dioxomorpholines and Derivatives from a Marine-Facultative Aspergillus Species 2017 1239 [The original abstract for this article contains (characters/images) that cannot be displayed here. Please click on the link below to read the full abstract and article.]
DNA Barcoding for Identification of Consumer-Relevant Mushrooms: A Partial Solution for Product Certification? 2017 1696 One challenge in the dietary supplement industry is confirmation of species identity for processed raw materials, i.e. those modified by milling, drying, or extraction, which move through a multilevel supply chain before reaching the finished product...
Droplet probe: coupling chromatography to the in situ evaluation of the chemistry of nature 2019 56 Covering: up to 2019The chemistry of nature can be beautiful, inspiring, beneficial and poisonous, depending onperspective. Since the isolation of the first secondary metabolites roughly two centuries ago,much of the chemical research on natural prod...
Endolichenic fungi: a new source of rich bioactive secondary metabolites on the horizon 2017 2989 Endolichenic fungi are diverse groups of predominantly filamentous fungi that reside asymptomatically in the interior of lichen thalli. Natural products from endolichenic fungi, isolated from a variety of different lichen species, have been attractin...
Enhanced Dereplication of Fungal Cultures Via Use of Mass Defect Filtering 2017 1171 Effective and rapid dereplication is a hallmark of present-day drug discovery from natural sources. This project strove to both decrease the time and expand the structural diversity associated with dereplication methodologies. A 5?min liquid chromato...
Evaluation of culture media for the production of secondary metabolites in a natural products screening program 2013 2489 Variation in the growing environment can have significant impacts on the quantity and diversity of fungal secondary metabolites. In the industrial setting, optimization of growing conditions can lead to significantly increased production of a compoun...
Flavonolignans from Aspergillus iizukae, a Fungal Endophyte of Milk Thistle (Silybum marianum) 2014 2472 Silybin A (1), silybin B (2), and isosilybin A (3), three of the seven flavonolignans that constitute silymarin, an extract of the fruits of milk thistle (Silybum marianum), were detected for the first time from a fungal endophyte, Aspergillus iizuka...
Freshwater Ascomycetes: Minutisphaera (Dothideomycetes) revisited, including one new species from Japan 2013 1209 During investigations of freshwater ascomycetes we found one interesting taxon from Aomori (Japan), as well as three additional taxa from North Carolina (USA), which were morphologically similar to Minutisphaera, a recently described freshwater fung...
Freshwater Fungi as a Source of Chemical Diversity: A Review 2021 1411 As their name indicates, freshwater fungi occur on submerged substrates in fresh water habitats. This review brings together the chemical diversity and biological activity of 199 of the 280 known freshwater fungal metabolites published from 1992 to 2...
Fungal Identification Using Molecular Tools: A Primer for the Natural Products Research Community 2017 2545 Fungi are morphologically, ecologically, metabolically, and phylogenetically diverse. They are known to produce numerous bioactive molecules, which makes them very useful for natural products researchers in their pursuit of discovering new chemical d...
Fungal Planet Description Sheets: 371-399 2015 837 Novel species of fungi described in the present study include the following from Australia:Neoseptorioides eucalypti gen. & sp. nov. from Eucalyptus radiata leaves, Phytophthoragondwanensis from soil, Diaporthe tulliensis from rotted stem ends of The...
Fungal Planet description sheets: 469–557 2016 2256 Novel species of fungi described in this study include those from various countries as follows: Australia: Apiognomonia lasiopetali on Lasiopetalum sp., Blastacervulus eucalyptorum on Eucalyptus adesmophloia,Bullanockia australis (incl. Bullanockia g...
Fungal Planet description sheets: 716–784 2018 1973 Novel species of fungi described in this study include those from various countries as follows: Australia, Chaetopsina eucalypti on Eucalyptus leaf litter, Colletotrichum cobbittiense from Cordyline stricta × C. australis hybrid, Cyanodermella banksi...
Fungal Planet description sheets: 785–867 2018 1630 Novel species of fungi described in this study include those from various countries as follows: Angola, Gnomoniopsis angolensis and Pseudopithomyces angolensis on unknown host plants. Australia, Dothiora corymbiae on Corymbia citriodora, Neoeucasphae...
Fungal–fungal co-culture: a primer for generating chemical diversity 2022 200 Covering: 2002 to 2020In their natural environment, fungi must compete for resources. It has been hypothesized that this competition likely induces the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites for defence. In a quest to discover new chemical diversity f...
Genomic Characterization of Parengyodontium torokii sp. nov., a Biofilm-Forming Fungus Isolated from Mars 2020 Assembly Facility 2022 111 A fungal strain (FJII-L10-SW-P1) was isolated from the Mars 2020 spacecraft assembly facility and exhibited biofilm formation on spacecraft-qualified Teflon surfaces. The reconstruction of a six-loci gene tree (ITS, LSU, SSU, RPB1 and RPB2, and TEF1)...
The genus Podaxis in arid regions of Mexico: preliminary ITS phylogeny and ethnomycological use 2017 1347 Identification of Podaxis species to species-level based on morphology alone is problematic. Thus, species of the genus Podaxis are in dire need of taxonomic and phylogenetic evaluations using molecular data to develop a consensus between morphologic...
Greensporones: Resorcylic Acid Lactones from an Aquatic Halenospora sp. 2014 1945 Fourteen new resorcylic acid lactones (1–14) were isolated from an organic extract of a culture of a freshwater aquatic fungus Halenospora sp. originating from a stream in North Carolina. The structures were elucidated using a set of spectroscopic an...
In Situ Mass Spectrometry Monitoring of Fungal Cultures Led to the Identification of Four Peptaibols with a Rare Threonine Residue 2017 1142 Peptaibols are an intriguing class of fungal metabolites due both to their wide range of reported bioactivities and to the structural variability that can be generated by the exchange of variable amino acid building blocks. In an effort to streamline...
Insights into the chemical diversity of selected fungi from the Tza Itzá cenote of the Yucatan peninsula 2022 967 Cenotes are habitats with unique physical, chemical, and biological features. Unexplored microorganisms from these sinkholes represent a potential source of bioactive molecules. Thus, a series of cultivable fungi (Aspergillus spp. NCA257, NCA264, and...
Isochromenones, isobenzofuranone, and tetrahydronaphthalenes produced by Paraphoma radicina, a fungus isolated from a freshwater habitat 2014 2458 Six isochromenones (1–6), clearanols F (5) and G (6), one isobenzofuranone (7), and two tetrahydronaphthalene derivatives (8 and radinaphthalenone (9)), were isolated and identified from a culture of the fungus Paraphoma radicina, which was isolated ...
Kratom (Mitragyna speciosa) validation: quantitative analysis of indole and oxindole alkaloids reveals chemotypes of plants and products 2022 879 Many consumers are turning to kratom (Mitragyna speciosa) to self-manage pain and opioid addiction. In the United States, an array of capsules, powders, and loose-leaf kratom products are readily available. Additionally, several online sites supply l...
Lindgomyces angustiascus, (Lindgomycetaceae, Pleosporales, Dothideomycetes), a new lignicolous species from freshwater habitats in the USA 2013 2172 In this paper, we describe and illustrate a new species, Lindgomyces angustiascus, from submerged wood in lotic and lentic habitats from Florida, North Carolina and Wisconsin, USA. The new species is characterized by black, partially immersed, flatte...
Mass Spectrometry Imaging of Secondary Metabolites Directly on Fungal Cultures 2014 1410 Desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (DESI-MS) is an ambient ionization technique that enables imaging experiments directly on fungal cultures. Much information can be gained by examining an organism directly from culture, rather than...
Media studies to enhance the production of verticillins facilitated by in situ chemical analysis 2018 925 Verticillins are a group of epipolythiodioxopiperazine alkaloids that have displayed potent cytotoxicity. To evaluate their potential further, a larger supply of these compounds was needed for both in vivo studies and analogue development via semisyn...
Meroterpenoids from Neosetophoma sp.: A Dioxa[4.3.3]propellane Ring System, Potent Cytotoxicity, and Prolific Expression 2019 1240 Six fungal metabolites, of which five were new, including one (1) with a dioxa[4.3.3]propellane ring system, were discovered, identified, and structurally elucidated from Neosetophoma sp. (strain MSX50044); these compounds are similar to the bis-trop...
Metabolites from the marine-facultative Aspergillus sp. MEXU 27854 and Gymnoascus hyalinosporus MEXU 29901 from Caleta Bay, Mexico 2019 891 During our ongoing research on fungal strains from unexplored sources, the reinvestigation of the CHCl3-MeOH extract of the marine-facultative Aspergillus sp. MEXU 27854 yielded a new N-methyl cyclic pentapeptide (1) along with known butyrolactone II...
Minutisphaerales (Dothideomycetes, Ascomycota): a new order of freshwater ascomycetes including a new family, Minutisphaeraceae, and two new species from North Carolina, USA 2015 2556 Minutisphaera is a recently established genus of freshwater Dothideomycetes characterized by small, globose to subglobose or apothecioid, erumpent to superficial, brown ascomata; fissitunicate, eight-spored, ovoid to obclavate asci; and 1–2-septate, ...
Mycopyranone: A 8,8'-binaphthopyranone with potent anti-MRSA activity from the fungus Phialemoniopsis sp. 2019 824 [The original abstract for this article contains images that cannot be displayed here. Please click on the link below to read the full abstract and article.]
New Diketopiperazine Dimer from a Filamentous Fungal Isolate of Aspergillus sydowii 2015 1111 Prior investigations of filamentous fungi in our group have resulted in the isolation of several new and biologically active natural products.[1-3] Continuing these investigations, we have now analyzed the metabolites from a fungal isolate of Aspergi...
New terpenoids from the corticioid fungus Punctularia atropurpurascens and their antimycobacterial evaluation 2022 685 Chemical investigation of Punctularia atropurpurascens strain HM1 (Punctulariaceae), a corticioid isolated from a decorticated piece of Quercus bark collected in Bosque de Tlalpan, Mexico City, led to the isolation of a new drimane, 1-a-hydroxy-isodr...
Optimizing Production and Evaluating Biosynthesis in Situ of a Herbicidal Compound, Mevalocidin, from Coniolariella Sp. 2016 1532 Mevalocidin is a fungal secondary metabolite produced by Coniolariella sp. It is a unique phytotoxin that demonstrates broad spectrum post-emergent herbicidal properties. With limited options for weed control, the commercialization of a natural produ...
Orthogonal Method for Double-Bond Placement via Ozone-Induced Dissociation Mass Spectrometry (OzID-MS) 2019 1003 Most often, the structures of secondary metabolites are solved using a suite of NMR techniques. However, there are times when it can be challenging to position double bonds, particularly those that are fully substituted or when there are multiple dou...
Pannorin B, a New Naphthopyrone from an Endophytic Fungal Isolate of Penicillium Sp. 2016 405 The herbal remedy, milk thistle (Silybum marianum), has been used in traditional medicine for various liver, kidney, and gall bladder ailments. For over a decade, our research group has been investigating the flavonolignans obtained from this medicin...
Peptaibols, Tetramic Acid Derivatives, Isocoumarins, and Sesquiterpenes from a Bionectria sp. (MSX 47401) 2013 1650 An extract of the filamentous fungus Bionectria sp. (MSX 47401) showed both promising cytotoxic activity (>90% inhibition of H460 cell growth at 20 µg/mL) and antibacterial activity against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). A bioact...
Phylogenetic and chemical diversity of fungal endophytes isolated from Silybum marianum (L) Gaertn. (milk thistle) 2015 1273 Use of the herb milk thistle (Silybum marianum) is widespread, and its chemistry has been studied for over 50 years. However, milk thistle endophytes have not been studied previously for their fungal and chemical diversity. We examined the fungal end...
Polyhydroxyanthraquinones as Quorum Sensing Inhibitors from the Guttates of Penicillium restrictum and Their Analysis by Desorption Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry 2014 2250 The endophytic fungus Penicillium restrictum was isolated from the stems of a milk thistle (Silybum marianum) plant. In culture, the fungus produced distinct red guttates, which have been virtually uninvestigated, particularly from the standpoint of ...
Polyphasic Approach Utilized for the Identification of Two New Toxigenic Members of Penicillium Section Exilicaulis, P. krskae and P. silybi spp. nov. 2021 86 Two new species, Penicillium krskae (isolated from the air as a lab contaminant in Tulln (Austria, EU)) and Penicillium silybi (isolated as an endophyte from asymptomatic milk thistle (Silybum marianum) stems from Josephine County (Oregon, USA)) are ...
Prealamethicin F50 and Related Peptaibols from Trichoderma arundinaceum: Validation of their Authenticity via in situ Chemical Analysis 2017 1179 In the field of natural products chemistry, a common question pertains to the authenticity of an isolated compound, i.e. are the interesting side chains biosynthesized naturally or an artefact of the isolation/purification processes? The droplet-liqu...
Prenylated Diresorcinols Inhibit Bacterial Quorum Sensing 2019 1221 [The original abstract for this article contains images that cannot be displayed here. Please click on the link below to read the full abstract and article.]
qNMR for Profiling the Production of Fungal Secondary Metabolites 2017 1170 Analysis of complex mixtures is a common challenge in natural products research. Quantitative nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy offers analysis of complex mixtures at early stages and with benefits that are orthogonal to more common methods of ...
Recommendations for competing sexual-asexually typified generic names in Sordariomycetes (except Diaporthales, Hypocreales, and Magnaporthales) 2016 249 With the advance to one scientific name for each fungal species, the generic names in the class Sordariomycetes typified by sexual and asexual morphs are evaluated based on their type species to determine if they compete with each other for use or pr...
Safety Assessment of Mushrooms in Dietary Supplements by Combining Analytical Data with in Silico Toxicology Evaluation 2017 1266 Despite growing popularity in dietary supplements, many medicinal mushrooms have not been evaluated for their safe human consumption using modern techniques. The multifaceted approach described here relies on five key principles to evaluate the safet...
Secondary Metabolites from Fungal Endophytes of Echinacea purpurea Suppress Cytokine Secretion by Macrophage-Type Cells 2016 1094 Botanical extracts of Echinacea purpurea have been widely used for the treatment of upper respiratory infections. We sought to chemically examine fungal endophytes inhabiting E. purpurea, and to identify compounds produced by these endophytes with in...
Sheptide A: an antimalarial cyclic pentapeptide from a fungal strain in the Herpotrichiellaceae 2023 176 As part of ongoing efforts to isolate biologically active fungal metabolites, a cyclic pentapeptide, sheptide A (1), was discovered from strain MSX53339 (Herpotrichiellaceae). The structure and sequence of 1 were determined primarily by analysis of 2...
Sorbicillinoid Analogs with Cytotoxic and Selective Anti-Aspergillus Activities from Scytalidium album 2014 1176 As part of an ongoing project to explore filamentous fungi for anticancer and antibiotic leads, 11 compounds were isolated and identified from an organic extract of the fungus Scytalidium album (MSX51631) using bioactivity-directed fractionation agai...
Spatial and Temporal Profiling of Griseofulvin Production in Xylaria cubensis Using Mass Spectrometry Mapping 2016 1124 A large portion of natural products research revolves around the discovery of new, bioactive chemical entities; however, studies to probe the biological purpose of such secondary metabolites for the host organism are often limited. Mass spectrometry ...
Spiroscytalin, a New Tetramic Acid and Other Metabolites of Mixed Biogenesis from Scytalidium cuboideum 2015 1421 Spiroscytalin (1), a new tetramic acid that possesses an uncommon spiro-ring fusion between a polyketide-derived octalin ring system and a 2,4-pyrrolidinedione, along with two known compounds, leporin B (2) and purpactin A (3), were isolated from a s...
Structural diversity of Perylenequinones is driven by their redox behavior 2022 976 Hypocrellins and hypomycins are two subclasses of fungal perylenequinones with unique structural, biological, and photochemical properties. With the growing interest in these naturally occurring photosensitizers, more studies were warranted to better...
Talarolutins A–D: Meroterpenoids from an Endophytic Fungal Isolate of Talaromyces minioluteus 2016 1211 Four meroterpenoids [talarolutins A–D] and one known compound [purpurquinone A] were characterized from an endophytic fungal isolate of Talaromyces minioluteus (G413), which was obtained from the leaves of the medicinal plant milk thistle [Silybum ma...
w-Hydroxyemodin Limits Staphylococcus aureus Quorum Sensing-Mediated Pathogenesis and Inflammation 2015 1389 Antibiotic-resistant pathogens are a global health threat. Small molecules that inhibit bacterial virulence have been suggested as alternatives or adjuncts to conventional antibiotics, as they may limit pathogenesis and increase bacterial susceptibil...
Waol A, trans-dihydrowaol A, and cis-dihydrowaol A: polyketide-derived (gamma)-lactones from a Volutella species 2013 1178 An organic extract of a filamentous fungus (MSX 58801), identified as a Volutella sp. (Hypocreales, Ascomycota), displayed moderate cytotoxic activity against NCI-H460 human large cell lung carcinoma. Bioactivity-directed fractionation led to the iso...