Drosophilin A

Drosophilin A, or 2,3,5,6-tetrachloro-4-methoxyphenol, is a natural antibiotic first isolated by F. Kavanagh and co-workers from the mushroom Agaricus subatratusin 1952. This year, W. Vetter and coauthors, while analyzing commercial meat from wild boars (Sus scrofa) for persistent organic pollutants, identified drosophilin A in the meat. Mushrooms are typically parts of boars’ diets, and the presumed lack of toxicity of drosophilin A may aid in the synthesis of useful nontoxic polyhalogenated compounds.