Indonesian Medicinal Plants. VIII. Chemical Structures of Three New Triterpenoids, Bruceajavanin A, Dihydrobruceajavanin A, and Bruceajavanin B, and a New Alkaloidal Glycoside, Bruceacanthinoside, from the Stems of Brucea javanica (Simaroubaceae).

Abstract

Three new apotirucallane-type triterpenoids named bruceajavanin A (1) dihydrobruceajavanin A (2) and bruceajavanin B (3), and a novel beta-carboline alkaloidal glycoside named bruceacanthinoside (4) were isolated from the stems of Brucea javanica (Simaroubaceae), a traditional medicine used to treat malaria in the Bengkulu area, Sumatra, Indonesia. Their chemical structures have been elucidated on the bases of their chemical and physicochemical properties. Bruceajavanin A (1), dihydrobruceajavanin A (2) and bruceacanthinoside (4) were shown to inhibit growth of the cultured malarial parasite Plasmodium falciparum K1 of a chloroquine-resistant strain.