Bioactive Compounds
Cyathus helenae produces a series of diterpenoid chemical compounds known as cyathins, which have antibiotic properties against the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus. The capacity to produce cyathins—similar to C. striatus and C. africanus—is limited to haploid strains. The basic chemical structure of the cyathins, known as the cyathane skeleton, is chemically unique and has been investigated using carbon-13 nuclear magnetic resonance (13C NMR); molecules with this structure have also been created synthetically.
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