ABSTRACT
Phytochemical investigation of the seeds of Salacia longipes var. camerunensis led to the isolation of four sesquiterpenoid derivatives, salaterpene A (1) (1α,2ß,8ß-triacetoxy-6ß,9ß-dibenzoyloxy-4ß-hydroxy-dihydro-ß-agarofuran), salaterpene B (2) (1α,2ß,8ß-triacetoxy-9ß-benzoyloxy-6ß-cinnamoyloxy-4ß-hydroxy-dihydro-ß-agarofuran), salaterpene C (3) (1α,2ß-diacetoxy-6ß,9ß-dibenzoyloxy-4ß-hydroxy-dihydro-ß-agarofuran) and salaterpene D (4) (2ß-acetoxy-1α,6ß-dibenzoyloxy-4ß-hydroxy-9ß-nicotinoyloxy-dihydro-ß-agarofuran) together with two known compounds (5 and 6). The structures of the compounds were established by means of NMR spectroscopy. Compounds 1-4 and 6 were tested in vitro for their antiplasmodial activity against Plasmodium falciparum chloroquine-resistant strain W2. All the tested compounds exhibited a moderate potency with IC50 below 2.7 µM.
