Isolation of an anthelmintic compound from Leucosidea sericea

The leaves of Leucosidea sericea (Rosaceae) are used medicinally by some indigenous South African people as a vermifuge and astringent. No information on the biological activity and phytochemistry of the plant could be found in the literature. Bioassay-guided fractionation was used to identify the active compound. Partial purification of the petroleum ether extract of the leaves and flowers was followed by fractionation using chromatographic methods. This process yielded the phloroglucinol derivatives, aspidinol and desaspidinol, which were previously reported to be present in a Dryopteris species. Aspidinol was further isolated and structurally elucidated. This is the first report of the presence of these compounds in Leucosidea sericea. The disk diffusion method used in our study, indicated that the plant has antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis and Candida albicans.