Antifungal and cytotoxic activity of withanolides from Acnistus arborescens

  • J Nat Prod. 2010 Jul 23;73(7):1313-7. doi: 10.1021/np100201p.
Vincent Roumy  1 ,  Murielle Biabiany ,  Thierry Hennebelle ,  El Moukhtar Aliouat ,  Muriel Pottier ,  Henry Joseph ,  Sami Joha ,  Bruno Quesnel ,  Racha Alkhatib ,  Sevser Sahpaz ,  François Bailleul
Affiliations
  • 1. Laboratoire de Pharmacognosie, EA4481 (GRIIOT), Faculte des Sciences Pharmaceutiques et Biologiques, Universite Lille Nord de France (Lille 2), Lille Cedex, France. [email protected]
PMID: 20590148 DOI: 10.1021/np100201p
Abstract

Three compounds were isolated from Acnistus arborescens, a tree commonly used in South and Central America in traditional medicine against several infectious diseases, some of which are caused by fungi. Bioassay-guided fractionation of a MeOH extract of leaves, based on its anti-Pneumocystis carinii activity, led to the isolation of compounds 1-3. Mono- and bidimensional NMR analyses enabled identification of two new withanolides, (20R,22R)-5beta,6beta-epoxy-4beta,12beta,20-trihydroxy-1-oxowith-2-en-24-enolide (1) and (20R,22R)-16beta-acetoxy-3beta,4beta;5beta,6beta-diepoxy-12beta,20-dihydroxy-1-oxowith-24-enolide (2), and withanolide D (3). Antifungal activity on 13 fungi responsible for human infections (five dermatophytes, one nondermatophyte mold, six yeasts, and Pneumocystis carinii) was examined. Cytotoxicity of these compounds was also evaluated in vitro.