Planta Med 2014; 80 - P1L46
DOI: 10.1055/s-0034-1394703

Bioactive compounds from the stem barks and leaves of Conchocarpus fontanesianus

R Cabral 1, E Queiroz 2, L Marcourt 2, MC Young 1, JL Wolfender 2
  • 1Nucleus of Research in Fisiology and Biochemistry, Botany Institute of São Paulo, Av Miguel Estefano, 3687, 04301 – 012, São Paulo, Brazil
  • 2School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Geneva, University of Lausanne, 30, Quai Ernest-Anserment, CH-1211 Geneva 4, Switzerland

Conchocarpus fontanesianus (A. St.-Hil.) Kallunki & Pirani (Rutaceae), popularly known as pitaguará, is a Brazilian native and endemic species distributed in the Atlantic Rain Forest [1]. The dichloromethane extract of the stem barks of this plant showed significant antifungal activity against Candida albicans on thin layer bioautographic assays [2]. In order to isolate the active compounds, bioassay-guided fractionation was undertaken using HPLC-microfractionation to localize the active compounds [3]. This HPLC-based antifungal activity profiling enabled the efficient localisation of different active metabolites. Dereplication procedure based on LC-HRMS did not allow an unambiguous identification of these compounds that were putatively new. The targeted isolation of the active and the novel compounds was performed by medium pressure liquid chromatography (MPLC-UV) and semi-preparative HPLC. Using this approach, 15 compounds were isolated, among them two unusual alkaloids and two new limonoids. The structures of the isolated compounds were elucidated by classical spectroscopic methods including 2D NMR and HR-MS. The natural products obtained have also served as standard for a comprehensive metabolite profiling of various organs of this plant collected in different region for a complete survey of its phytochemical composition.

Keywords: C. fontanesianus, Rutaceae, Atlantic Rainforest, antifungal activity, natural products, metabolic profile.

References:

[1]. Kallunki J., Pirani J.P. 1998. Kew Bulletin, 53, 257 – 334.

[2]. Favre-Godal Q., et al. 2013. JOAC International, 96, 1175 – 1188.

[3]. Wolfender J.L., Queiroz E.F. 2012. Chimia, 66, 324 – 329.