Isolation and characterisation of antiproliferative compounds from Neoharmsia baronii

The plant Neoharmsia baronii is endemic to Madagascar, and has been listed as a critically endangered species under the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Work on this species is thus important so as to obtain as much information as possible before it becomes extinct. As part of an International Cooperative Biodiversity Group (ICBG) program, an ethanol extract of a small sample of this plant was found to have antiproliferative activity against the A2780 ovarian cancer cell line. Bioassay-guided fractionation of this extract led to the isolation of two flavonoids with significant antiproliferative activity. The structures of the flavonoids isolated, fustin 1 and fisetin 2, were determined using NMR and mass spectrometric techniques. Further isolation and characterization of additional compounds with promising anticancer activity is ongoing.