The novel equisetin-like compound, TA-289, causes aberrant mitochondrial morphology which is independent of the production of reactive oxygen species in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Tetramic acids constitute a large class of natural products isolated from a variety of different fungal and bacterial species. While the presence of the distinctive 2,4-pyrrolidinedione ring system defines this class of compounds, these compounds are widely diverse both structurally and in the biological activities that they display. Equisetin-like compounds are tetramic acids that have been shown to be growth inhibitory towards bacteria, fungi, yeasts and mammalian cell lines; however, the mechanisms inhibiting prokaryotic and eukaryotic cell growth have not been fully explained.