The structure 1, 3,6,8-trihydroxytetralone, proposed (1) earlier for scytalone is corroborated by synthesis of an aromatization product 1,3,8-trimethoxynaphthalene. A new minor metabolite of the same Scytalidium species is shown to be 4,8-dihydroxytetralone (6).
A metabolite from culture filtrates of a Scytalidium strain is shown by spectroscopic and chemical means to have structure 1a. The oxygenation pattern is as anticipated from a polyketide precursor.