A new anti-inflammatory flavonol glycoside from Alchornea floribunda leaves

Alchornea floribunda leaves are widely used in African ethnomedicine for the management of acute and chronic inflammatory disorders. In the present study, bioactivity-guided fractionation of the ethyl acetate fraction of the methanol leaf extract of the plant material led to the isolation of a new flavonol glycoside (AFF1). The anti-inflammatory activity of this novel compound was evaluated using egg albumen-induced rat paw oedema as a model of inflammation. AFF1 showed significant inhibition of the rat paw oedema in a dose-dependent manner. The activity of AFF1 (50 mg kg(-1)) was higher than that of the standard anti-inflammatory drug, aspirin (100 mg kg(-1)). The compound also significantly (p < 0.001) inhibited heat-induced haemolysis of human erythrocytes in vitro. The structure of AFF1 was elucidated as 3,5,7,3'-tetrahydroxyflavone-3-O-alpha-L-rhamnoside, using a combination of UV, IR, 1D and 2D (COSY) 1H-NMR spectroscopy. This compound, in part, accounts for the anti-inflammatory effect of A. floribunda leaves.