4-Phenylcoumarins from Mesua elegans with acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activity
Khalijah Awang1, Gomathi Chan, Marc Litaudon
1Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, Pantai Valley, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. khalijah@um.edu.my
Abstract:
A significant acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitory activity was observed for the hexane extract from the bark of Mesua elegans (Clusiaceae). Thus, the hexane extract was subjected to chemical investigation, which led to the isolation of nine 4-phenylcoumarins, in which three are new; mesuagenin A (1), mesuagenin C (3), mesuagenin D (4) and one new natural product; mesuagenin B (2). The structures of the isolated compounds were characterized by spectroscopic data interpretation, especially 1D and 2D NMR. Four compounds showed significant AChE inhibitory activity, with mesuagenin B (2) being the most potent (IC(50)=0.7μM).
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