Marsdenia tinctoria is an indigo producing plant commonly found in Borneo, Malaysia. In this present study, one new flavone kapitone (1) and three known compounds, that is 3,2'-dihydroxyflavone (2), 1-methylcyclobutene (3) and dimethyl isatoate (4) were isolated from the Malaysia Borneo M. tinctoria R. Br. (Apocynaceae). These compounds were isolated and characterised using extensive chromatographic and spectroscopic methods.
Six prenylated flavones, including one new compound, were isolated and identified from the stem bark extracts of Artocarpus altilis. The new prenylated flavone hydroxyartocarpin (1) was characterized as 3-(gamma,gamma-dimethylallyl)-6-isopentenyl-5,8,2',4'-tetrahydroxy-7-methoxyflavone and the known compounds were artocarpin (2), morusin (3), cycloartobiloxanthone (4), cycloartocarpin A (5) and artoindonesianin V (6). The structures of the compounds were determined by spectroscopic methods (IR, MS, (1)H-NMR and (13)C-NMR) and comparison with published data for the known compounds.
The bark extract of Melicope subunifoliolata (Stapf) T.G. Hartley showed competitive muscarinic receptor binding activity. Six polymethoxyflavones [melibentin (1); melisimplexin (3); 3,3',4',5,7-pentamethoxyflavone (4); meliternatin (5); 3,5,8-trimethoxy-3',4',6,7-bismethylenedioxyflavone (6); and isokanugin (7)] and one furanocoumarin [5-methoxy-8-geranyloxypsoralen (2)] were isolated from the bark extract. Compounds 2 and 6 were isolated for the first time from M. subunifoliolata. The methoxyflavones (compounds 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7) show moderate inhibition in a muscarinic receptor binding assay, while the furanocoumarin (compound 2) is inactive. The potency of the methoxyflavones to inhibit [(3)H]NMS-muscarinic receptor binding is influenced by the position and number of methoxy substitution. The results suggest these compounds are probably muscarinic modulators, agonists or partial agonists/antagonists.
The bioactivity guided fractionation of Tetracera indica leaves crude ethanolic extract has afforded the isolation and characterization of six compounds including a new natural product viz., 5,7-dihydroxyflavone-O-8-sulphate (1) and five known flavonoids (2-6). The structures of the compounds were elucidated using 1D and 2D NMR and HRESIMS spectroscopic analyses. All the isolated compounds were evaluated for their in vitro inhibitory activity against alpha-glucosidase. Compound 1, 5 and 6 showed strong alpha-glucosidase inhibitory activity, 3 and 4 displayed weak activity while compound 2 was inactive. The interactions of the active compounds with alpha-glucosidase were further investigated using molecular docking to confirm their antidiabetic potential.
The rhizomes of Zingiber spectabile yielded a new dimeric flavonol glycoside for which the name kaempferol-3-O-(4″-O-acetyl)-α-L-rhamnopyranoside-(I-6,II-8)-kaempferol-3-O-(4″-O-acetyl)-α-L-rhamnopyranoside; spectaflavoside A (1) was proposed, along with kaempferol and its four acetylrhamnosides (2-6), demethoxycurcumin (7) and curcumin (8). The structure of spectaflavoside A was elucidated by spectroscopic methods including, 1D and 2D NMR techniques. This is the first report on the occurrence of a dimeric flavonol glycoside in the Zingiberaceae and the second in nature. Spectaflavoside A was found to be a potent iron chelating agent.