Acridone Alkaloids

Cusculine (FAC21) is an oropouche virus (OROV) endonuclease inhibitor with an IC₅₀ of 1.4 μM. Cusculine strongly interacts with OROV endonuclease, possibly limiting viral RNA interaction with other proteins, intercalates into double-stranded RNA (a viral replication intermediate), and efficiently inhibits OROV viral replication in vitro. Cusculine can be used for the research of oropouche fever.

Acronycine (Acronine) is an acridone alkaloid.

5-Hydroxynoracronycine is a selective inhibitor targeting Leishmania, HIV-1 protease, and nitric oxide (NO) production. 5-Hydroxynoracronycine has an IC₅₀ of 93.1 μmol/L against HIV-1 protease and an IC₅₀ of 0.19 mg/mL for scavenging DPPH free radicals. 5-Hydroxynoracronycine exerts anti-leishmanial, anti-HIV, antioxidant and antibacterial activities by inhibiting pathogen proliferation, enzyme activity and inflammation-related NO excessive production. 5-Hydroxynoracronycine can be used in the research of leishmaniasis, HIV infection, and inflammation-related diseases.

Melicopine is an alkaloid found in Z. simulans with antimalarial and anticancer activities. It exhibits inhibitory activity against chloroquine-sensitive 3D7 and chloroquine-resistant Dd2 strains of P. falciparum, with IC₅₀ values of 29.7 and 33.7 µg/mL, respectively. Melicopine is cytotoxic to prostate cancer cells PC-3M and LNCaP (IC₅₀ values of 47.9 and 37.8 µg/mL), but has no effect on non-cancerous HEK293 cells (IC₅₀ greater than 100 µg/mL). Melicopine holds promise for research in anticancer and anti-infection fields.

Evoxanthine is a compound that can be isolated from the stem bark of Pleiocarpa pycnantha.