Phenolic constituents from the leaves of Cratoxylum formosum ssp. pruniflorum

One (formosumone A, 1) new and fifteen (2-16) known phenolic compounds were isolated from the leaves of Cratoxylum formosum ssp. pruniflorumm, a substitute for the popular bitter nail tea (“Kuding Tea”) generally used in Southeast Asia. Their structures were determined by extensive spectroscopic analysis and by comparison with literature data. Compound 1 possesses a rare scaffold of a flavanone coupled with a phloroglucinol moiety, representing the first example of such a scaffold from the Clusiaceae family. Among the isolates, toxyloxanthone B (11) and vismione D (12) were found to show remarkable anti-neuroinflammatory effects by inhibiting nitric oxide (NO) production in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated murine BV-2 microglial cells. Additionally, toxyloxanthone B (11) exhibited significant neuroprotective effect against β-amyloid25-35 (Aβ25-35)-induced cell viability decrease in SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells.

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