Constituents of Croton megalocarpus with Potential Anti-HIV Activity

Reported herein is an anti-HIV monochlorinated compound, 1β-acetoxy-3β-chloro-5α,6α-dihydroxycrotocascarin L (1), of the rare crotofolane diterpenoid class. Compound 1, a suspected artifact of extraction, along with the previously undescribed 11β-acetoxycrotocascarin L (2) and a known compound, crotocascarin K (3), were isolated from the bark of Croton megalocarpus, a Kenyan oil-producing seed crop. Compounds 1 and 3 inhibited HIV-1 replication with IC₅₀ values of 28 and 5.5 nM, respectively. Furthermore, both compounds lacked cytotoxicity toward MT-4 cells and FM-55-M1 cells at concentrations of up to 50 μM. Compounds 1 and 3 were both found to inhibit HIV-1 protease.