[Possibility of the natural product extracted from Calophyllum Brasiliense]

During our search for cancer chemopreventing compounds derived from plant sources, we discovered that the natural product GUT-70, isolated from the stem bark of Calophyllum Brasiliense collected in Brazil, significantly inhibited the growth of leukemic cells via the induction of caspase-mediated and p53-independent apoptosis. Furthermore, we synthesized BNS-22 as a derivative of GUT-70, which showed more antiproliferative activity against human cancer cells than GUT-70. GUT-70 and BNS-22 commonly inhibited ubiquilin-1, suggesting that a GUT-70 derivative might become a First in Class agent. In addition, GUT-70 and BNS-22 inhibited HSP90 and topoisomerase II, respectively. Recently, we also found that GUT-70 inhibited HIV replication. These findings indicated that GUT-70 could serve as a lead compound to develop novel therapeutic agents against cancer and HIV-1 infection.