A phytochemical study of the root and bark of Brucea antidysenterica J. F. Mill. (Simaroubaceae) afforded three new compounds, including a stilbene glycoside bruceanoside A (1), and two canthinone alkaloids bruceacanthinones A (3) and B (4), along with ten known secondary metabolites, rhaponticin (2), 1,11-dimethoxycanthin-6-one (5), canthin-6-one (6), 1-methoxycanthin-6-one (7), 2-methoxycanthin-6-one (8), 2-hydroxy-1,11-dimethoxycanthin-6-one (9), β-carboline-1-propionic acid (10), cleomiscosin C (11), cleomiscosin A (12), and hydnocarpin (13). The structures of all the compounds were determined using spectrometric and spectroscopic methods including 1D and 2D NMR, and HRSEIMS. The identities of the known compounds were further confirmed by comparison of their data with those reported in the literature. The root and bark methanolic extracts, the dichloromethane and ethyl acetate soluble fractions, and the isolated compounds (3–13), were assessed for their cytotoxicity against the cancer cell lines A-549, MCF-7, and PC-3. The results suggested that compounds in the extracts might possess a synergic action in their cytotoxicity.

Three new prenylated furoquinoline alkaloids named lecomtequinoline A (1), B (2), and C (3), together with the known compounds anhydroevoxine (4), evoxine (5), dictamnine (6), N-methylflindersine (7), evoxanthine (8), hesperidin, lupeol, β-sitosterol, stigmasterol, β-sitosterol-3-O-β-d-glucopyranoside, stearic acid, and myristyl alcohol, were isolated by bioassay-guided fractionation of the methanolic extracts of leaves and stem of Vepris lecomteana. The structures of compounds were determined by spectroscopic methods (NMR, MS, UV, and IR) and by comparison with previously reported data. Crude extracts of leaves and stem displayed high antimicrobial activity, with Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) (values of 10.1–16.5 and 10.2–20.5 µg/mL, respectively, against Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas agarici, Micrococcus luteus, and Staphylococcus warneri, while compounds 1–6 showed values ranging from 11.1 to 18.7 µg/mL or were inactive, suggesting synergistic effect. The extracts may find application in crude drug preparations in Western Africa where Vepris lecomteana is endemic, subject to negative toxicity results in vivo.

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We report the chemistry and biological activities of a Cameroonian Citrus clementina Hort. Ex Tanaka, a vegetatively propagated species. The compounds isolated from this plant were determined to be the known 5-hydroxy-6,7,8,3’,4’-pentamethoxyflavone (1), tangerine (3), nobilletin (4), 5,7,8,4’-tetramethoxyflavone (5), citracridone I (6), 5-hydroxynoracronycine (7), citracridone III (8), xanthyletin (10), suberosin (9), E-suberenol (11), E-methoxysuberenol (13), 6-formylumbelliferone (12), aurantiamide acetate (2), limonin (14), stigmasterol, β-sitosterol and β-sitosterol-3-O-β-D-glucoside. The structures of the compounds were established on the basis of their NMR spectroscopic data and comparison with published data. Methanol leaf extract and compounds 1, 2, 4, 6, 7 and 10 were evaluated for their anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, urease and anti-diabetic effects. Compound 10 showed antioxidant activity, anti-inflammatory effect, urease activity and anti-diabetic activity with IC₅₀ values of 47.3 µM, 33.5 µM, 25.2 µM and 33.9 µM respectively, values that were comparable to the respective positive standards.

A chemical investigation of the leaves of Tabernaemontana inconspicua Stapf. led to the isolation of a new phenylpropanol derivative, namely irisdichototin G (1), together with nine known compounds, including one polyol derivative, dambonitol (2); three alkaloids, 10-hydroxycoronaridine (3), voacristine (4) and vobasine (5); two triterpenes lupeol (6), betulinic acid (7) and three sterols, sitosterol (8), sitosterol-3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (9) and stigmasterol (10). The structure of the new compound, as well as those of the known ones, was established by means of spectroscopic methods: NMR analysis (^1H and ¹³C NMR, 1H-1H-COSY, HSQC, HMBC and NOESY), high-resolution mass spectrometry (HR-ESI-MS) and comparisons with previously reported data. Among the known compounds, compound 2 was firstly reported from the family Apocynaceae. Compounds 1–5 were tested for their antimicrobial effects against three Gram-negative organisms associated with human wound and systemic infections, namely Haemophilus influenzae 9435337A, Klebsiella pneumoniae 17102005 and Pseudomonas aeruginosa 2137659B. Compounds 1, 3, and 5 showed significant antimicrobial effects with minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of 62.5 μg/mL, 62.5 μg/mL and 7.81 μg/mL, respectively, against Haemophilus influenzae, whereas compounds 1 and 5 showed significant antimicrobial effects, with a MIC value of 31.25 μg/mL against Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In addition, compound 3 showed significant antimicrobial activity, with a MIC value of 31.25 μg/mL against Klebsiella pneumoniae.

The stem bark of Ancistrocarpus densispinosus Oliv. exhibited triterpenoids, including the rare fernane-type, fern-9(11)-ene-2α,3β-diol (1) a possible chemotaxonomically distinct biomolecule for the genus. Other triterpenoids that were isolated from this plant include the ursane-type ursolic acid (2) and corosolic acid (3), friedelane-type friedelin (4) and canophyllol (5), lupane-type lupeol (6), betulin (7), betulinic acid (8) and hennadiol (9), oleanoic acid (10), maslinic acid (11) and taraxerol (12) and three sterols. This is the first report of the chemistry of a plant of the Ancistrocarpus. The structures of the compounds were elucidated based on their NMR, IR and MS techniques and by comparisons of their experimental data with those reported. The twelve triterpenoids 1–12 were found to be inactive against five bacterial strains Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas agarici, Micrococcus luteus and Staphylococcus warneri; inactive against KB-3-1 cervix carcinoma cancer cell line and inactive as antioxidants in the DPPH assay.