Antimalarial compounds from the root bark of Garcinia polyantha Olv.

Eight compounds were isolated from the roots of Garcinia polyantha, and identified. Two of them, the xanthone garciniaxanthone 1 (1), and the triterpene, named garcinane (2), are reported as ne,v natural products. The structures of the new compounds were elucidated oil the basis of 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic studies. The structure of compound 1 was confirmed by X-ray crystallography. Among the remaining six known compounds, three were known xanthones [smeathxanthone A (3), smeathxanthone B (4), and chefouxanthone (5)], one benzophenone [isoxanthochymol (6)], one triterpene [magnificol], and one sterol [beta-sitosterol]. The in vitro antimalarial activity of isoxanthochymol (6) against Plasmodium falciparum shows strong chemosuppression of parasitic growth.