Leishmanicidal phenolic compounds derived from Dalbergia cultrata.

ABSTRACT

Leishmaniasis is a protozoan tropical infection that is estimated to be more than 0.3 million new cases occur annually worldwide. A novel phenolic compound, cultratin A (1), was isolated as a leishmanicidal constituent from the timber of Dalbergia cultrata, along with three known neoflavanoids (2, 3, 4), two benzofurans (5, 6), and two phenolic compounds (7, 8). Their structures were determined using spectral methods. Among them, a new compound (1) and 4-(S)-methoxydalbergione (2) showed effective leishmanicidal activities (IC50 2.0 and 2.6 µM, respectively), while compound 8 showed moderate activity (IC50 11 µM). The cytotoxicity of compounds 1 and 2 was also weaker than that of the other compounds.