Anti-tuberculosis lupane-type isoprenoids from Syzygium guineense Wild DC. (Myrtaceae) stem bark

Abstract

Plant derived isoprenoids commonly called terpenoids, are not only useful as chemosytemic markers but are increasingly attracting attention in the development of newer drugs for the treatment of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis. Anti-tuberculosis activity guided solvent fractionation and chromatographic separation of the chloroform extract of S. guineense stem bark resulted in the isolation of two bioactive 3-β-hydroxylupane-type isoprenoids: betulinic acid methylenediol ester (1) (MIC; 0.15 mg/mL) and betulinic acid (2) (MIC; 0.60 mg/mL). The structures of the isolated compounds were elucidated using spectroscopic techniques. The antituberculosis assay was done using the Mycobacterium Growth Indicator Tube (MGIT) method. This is the first report of the isolation of the anti-tuberculosis constituents of S. guineense and its potentials for the development of drug leads for the treatment of tuberculosis thus validating its ethno-medicinal uses.

Keywords

• 3-β-Hydroxylupane
• Tuberculosis
• Drug discovery
• Ethno-medicine