Antifungal Chromans Inhibiting the Mitochondrial Respiratory Chain of Pea Seeds and New Xanthones from Calophyllum caledonicum

Abstract

Two new xanthones, caledonixanthone M 1 and caloxanthone L 2, and one new acid, caledonic acid 6 were isolated from the hexane-soluble extract of the stem bark of Calophyllum caledonicum. In the course of this phytochemical study, seven other known compounds - calothwaitesixanthone, calozeyloxanthone, allanxanthone, isoapetalic acid 3, calolongic acid 4, apetalic acid 5 and isocalolongic acid 7 - were isolated. Their antifungal activity against the growth of the human pathogenic fungus Aspergillus fumigatus was then investigated. The results indicated that the crude extract, calolongic acid 4 and isocalolongic acid 7 exhibited strong inhibitory effects with MIC₈₀ values of 8, 4, 2 μg/mL, respectively. Besides, calolongic acid 4, its lactone derivative 4a and isocalolongic acid 7 markedly reduced the respiration of pea seed mitochondria.

Key words

Xanthones - chroman-4-one acids - Calophyllum caledonicum - Guttiferae - antifungal activity - mitochondrial respiration

References

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