Molecules (Jul 2013)

Aporphine Alkaloids from the Leaves of Phoebe grandis (Nees) Mer. (Lauraceae) and Their Cytotoxic and Antibacterial Activities

  • A. Hamid A. Hadi,
  • Ainnul Hamidah Syahadah Azizan,
  • Siddiq Ibrahim Abdelwahab,
  • Noraziah Nordin,
  • Asdren Zajmi,
  • Najihah Mohd. Hashim,
  • Hanita Omar,
  • Hapipah Mohd Ali

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules18088994
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 18, no. 8
pp. 8994 – 9009

Abstract

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The oxoaporphine alkaloid lysicamine (1), and three proaporphine alkaloids, litsericinone (2), 8,9,11,12-tetrahydromecambrine (3) and hexahydromecambrine A (4) were isolated from the leaves of Phoebe grandis (Nees) Merr. (Lauraceae). Compounds 2 and 3 were first time isolated as new naturally occurring compounds from plants. The NMR data for the compounds 2–4 have never been reported so far. Compounds 1 and 2 showed significant cytotoxic activity against a MCF7 (human estrogen receptor (ER+) positive breast cancer) cell line with IC50 values of 26 and 60 µg/mL, respectively. Furthermore, in vitro cytotoxic activity against HepG2 (human liver cancer) cell line was evaluated for compounds 1–4 with IC50 values of 27, 14, 81 and 20 µg/mL, respectively. Lysicamine (1) displayed strong antibacterial activity against Bacillus subtilis (B145), Staphylococcus aureus (S1434) and Staphylococus epidermidis (a clinically isolated strain) with inhibition zones of 15.50 ± 0.57, 13.33 ± 0.57 and 12.00 ± 0.00 mm, respectively. However, none of the tested pathogenic bacteria were susceptible towards compounds 2 and 3.

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