Sphenostylisins A-K: bioactive modified isoflavonoid constituents of the root bark of Sphenostylis marginata ssp. erecta

J Org Chem. 2013 Oct 18;78(20):10166-77. doi: 10.1021/jo401573h. Epub 2013 Oct 3.

Abstract

Sphenostylisins A-C (1-3), three complex dimeric compounds representing two novel carbon skeletons, along with an additional eight new compounds, sphenostylisins D-K (4-11), were isolated from the active chloroform-soluble extract of the root bark of Sphenostylis marginata ssp. erecta using a bioactivity-guided isolation approach. The structures were elucidated by means of detailed spectroscopic analysis, including NMR and HRESIMS analysis, and tandem MS fragmentation was utilized to further support the structures of 1-3. The absolute configuration of sphenostylisin C (3) was established by electronic circular dichroism analysis. Plausible biogenetic relationships between the modified isoflavonoids 1-11 are proposed, and a cyclization reaction of 9 was conducted to support one of the biogenetic proposals made. All of these pure isolates were evaluated against a panel of in vitro bioassays, and among the results obtained, sphenostylisin A (1) was found to be a very potent NF-κB inhibitor (IC50 = 6 nM).

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Circular Dichroism
  • Isoflavones / chemistry*
  • Isoflavones / pharmacology*
  • Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy
  • Plant Extracts / chemistry*
  • Plant Extracts / isolation & purification
  • Plant Extracts / pharmacology*
  • Sphenostylis / chemistry*

Substances

  • Isoflavones
  • Plant Extracts
  • sphenostylisin-A