The isolation and synthesis of 3-chloro-4-hydroxy-phenylacetamide produced by a plant-associated microfungus of the genus Xylaria

Chemical investigations of the fermentation broth from the microfungus Xylaria sp. have afforded the new natural product 3-chloro-4-hydroxyphenylacetamide 1 and the previously reported fungal metabolite 3-chloro-4-hydroxyphenylacetic acid 2. This letter reports the isolation and full spectroscopic characterisation of compounds 1 and 2 by NMR, UV, IR and MS data. The crystal structure and one-pot synthesis of 3-chloro-4-hdroxyphenylacetamide are also reported. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.