Planta Med 2013; 79 - PI20
DOI: 10.1055/s-0033-1352110

Bioactive constituents from Pteris ensiformis

JJ Chen 1, CK Yang 1, IS Chen 2, CF Peng 3, JF Chen 4
  • 1Graduate Institute of Pharmaceutical Technology & Department of Pharmacy, Tajen University, Pingtung 907, Taiwan
  • 2Faculty of Pharmacy, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan
  • 3Department of Medical Laboratory Science and Biotechnology, College of Health Science, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan
  • 4Taitung District Agricultural Research and Extension Station, Taitung 950, Taiwan

Pteris ensiformis Burm. is a perennial herb, distributed in South China, India, Malay Peninsula, South Japan, Ryukyu Islands, the Philippines, Tropical Australia, and Taiwan. The genus Pteris (Pteridaceae) comprises about 300 species with tropical distribution. Various sesquiterpenes, flavonoids, benzenoids, and their derivatives are widely distributed in plants of genus Pteris. Many of these compounds exhibit cytotoxic, antioxidant, and antidiabetic activities. Investigation of the EtOAc-soluble fraction of the whole plants of P. ensiformis has led to the isolation of a new pterosin sesquiterpene, (R)-4-O-methylangolensin (1), along with 5 known compounds. The structure of 1 was determined through extensive 1D/2D NMR and mass-spectrometric analyses. Among the isolated compounds, (2S,3S)-13-hydroxypterosin T exhibited antitubercular activities (MIC = 6.25 µg/ml) against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv in vitro. Acknowledgement: This research was supported by grants from the National Science Council (NSC, Taiwan) (No. NSC 98 – 2320-B-127 – 001-MY3 and NSC 101 – 2320-B-127 – 001-MY3), awarded to Prof. J.-J. Chen.