Subscribe to RSS
DOI: 10.1055/s-2002-32907
The Toxicity of Some Quassinoids from Eurycoma longifolia
Publication History
Received: December 4, 2001
Accepted: March 23, 2002
Publication Date:
22 July 2002 (online)
Abstact
The 50 % aqueous ethanol extract of Eurycoma longifolia Jack (Simaroubaceace) roots was partitioned with diethyl ether, n-butanol and then water. Acute toxicity studies of each fraction on mice administered orally and brine shrimps revealed that the n-butanol fraction was the most toxic. Toxicity-guided chromatographic fractionation of the n-butanol fraction identified eurycomanone as the most toxic component. 13,21-Dihydroeurycoma-none, eurycomanol, longilactone, 14,15β-dihydroxyklaineanone and eurycomanol-2-O-β-glucopyranoside were 2.8, 33, 44, 88.9 and > 100 times less toxic on brine shrimps, respectively. A C20-type quassinoid, an α,β-unsaturated ketone in ring A, an exomethylene function at C-13 and an oxymethylene bridge connecting C-8 and C-11 of ring C contributed to increased toxicity.
References
- 1 Chan K L, O’Neill M J, Phillipson J D, Warhurst D C. Plants as sources of antimalarial drugs. Part 3. Eurycoma longifolia . Planta Medica. 1986; 52 105-7
- 2 Kardono L BS, Angerhofer C K, Tsauri S, Padmawinata K, Pezzuto J M, Kinghorn D. Cytotoxic and antimalarial constituents of the roots of Eurycoma longifolia . J Nat Prod. 1991; 54 1360-7
- 3 Chan K L, Lee S P, Sam T W, Han B H. A quassinoid glycoside from the roots of Eurycoma longifolia . Phytochemistry. 1989; 28 2857-9
- 4 Tada H, Yasuda F, Otani K, Doteuchi M, Ishara Y, Shiro M. New antiulcer quassinoids from Eurycoma longifolia . Eur J Medicinal Chemistry. 1991; 26 345-9
-
5 Chan K L, Lee S P, Yuen K H. Antipyretic activity of quassinoids from Eurycoma longifolia Jack. In: Ghazally I, Murtedza M, Laily D, editors
Chemical Prospecting in Malayan Forest. Pelanduk Publications: Selangor; 1995: 219-24 - 6 Morita H, Kishi E, Takeya K, Itokawa H, Tanaka O. New quassinoids from the roots of Eurycoma longifolia. Chemistry Lett 1990: 749-52
Prof. Dr. Kit-Lam Chan
School of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Universiti Sains Malaysia
11800 Penang
Malaysia
Email: klchan@usm.my
Fax: +604-6576836