Mesua beccariana (Clusiaceae), A Source of Potential Anti-cancer Lead Compounds in Drug Discovery

Abstract

An investigation on biologically active secondary metabolites from the stem bark of Mesua beccariana was carried out. A new cyclodione, mesuadione (1), along with several known constituents which are beccamarin (2), 2,5-dihydroxy-1,3,4-trimethoxy anthraquinone (3), 4-methoxy-1,3,5-trihydroxyanthraquinone (4), betulinic acid (5) and stigmasterol (6) were obtained from this ongoing research. Structures of these compounds were elucidated by extensive spectroscopic methods, including 1D and 2D-NMR, GC-MS, IR and UV techniques. Preliminary tests of the in vitro cytotoxic activities of all the isolated metabolites against a panel of human cancer cell lines Raji (lymphoma), SNU-1 (gastric carcinoma), K562 (erythroleukemia cells), LS-174T (colorectal adenocarcinoma), HeLa (cervical cells), SK-MEL-28 (malignant melanoma cells), NCI-H23 (lung adenocarcinoma), IMR-32 (neuroblastoma) and Hep-G2 (hepatocellular liver carcinoma) were carried out using an MTT assay. Mesuadione (1), beccamarin (2), betulinic acid (5) and stigmasterol (6) displayed strong inhibition of Raji cell proliferation, while the proliferation rate of SK-MEL-28 and HeLa were strongly inhibited by stigmasterol (6) and beccamarin (2), indicating these secondary metabolites could be anti-cancer lead compounds in drug discovery.

In VitroCytotoxic, Antioxidant, and Antimicrobial Activities ofMesua beccariana(Baill.) Kosterm.,Mesua ferreaLinn., andMesua congestifloraExtracts

“…The structure-activity relationship (SAR) study revealed that the diprenyl, dipyrano, and prenylated pyrano substituent groups of the xanthone derivatives contributed towards the cytotoxicities [22]. Moreover, preliminary tests of cytotoxicity on other isolated metabolites were also reported [9, 21]. …”

“…Recent pharmacognosy analysis on Mesua ferrea leaf and fruit extracts showed both methanolic extracts to exhibit good antibacterial activity towards Staphylococcus aureus [11]. Previous research papers on Mesua species have shown that these plants exhibit many biological activities such as antioxidant [12–14], hepatoprotective [12], antiarthritic [15], immunomodulatory [16], antibacterial [17], antiacetylcholinesterase (AChE) [18], and larvicidal [19] activities, as well as antiproliferative effects [9, 20–22]. These plants were thus selected for our pharmacological investigation.…”

Roles of Plant Extracts and Constituents in Cervical Cancer Therapy

“…Even this compound exhibited strong inhibition of cell proliferation, indicating its effectiveness as another anti-cancer lead compounds from the same plant (Teh et al, 2012). In another study, the crude hexane extract of the vines of B. Strychnifolia have also been found to be highly cytotoxic (IC 50 value of 1.86 μg/ml) in KB3-1 (Kaewpiboon et al, 2012).…”

“…Stigmasterol exhibited strong inhibition of cell proliferation, an indication of its effectiveness as anticancer lead compounds (Teh et al, 2012).…”

Isomeric Polycyclic Polyprenylated Acylphloroglucinols from the Bark of Mesua ferrea (Clusiaceae)

“…Motivated by the prospect of finding new α-glucosidase inhibitors from this extract, we have embarked on the isolation of the phytochemicals utilizing modern chromatographic techniques. Herein, we report the isolation and structural elucidation of six new isomeric polycyclic polyprenylated acylphloroglucinols (PPAPs) named mesuaferroic acid A, B, C, E and F (1)(2)(3)(4)(5) and their α-glucosidase inhibitory activity.…”