Abstract
Oricia suaveolens
(Engl.) Verd. is used as a remedy for several afflictions in Cameroon [1]. The MeOH extract of the stems and the leaves of
O. suaveolens
furnished sixteen compounds which are identified as suaveoline A (
1
), suaveoline B (
2
), suaveoline C (
3
), suaveoline D (4), 6
-
methoxyruteacaprine, nkolbisine, tecleaverdoornine, skimmianine, 7-hydroxy-8-methoxydictamine, kokusaginine, maculine, 5-methoxymaculine, flindersiamine, limonin, lupeol and oleanolic acid. Their structures were established using their spectroscopic data and on comparison with reported analogues [2–4]. The extracts and some isolated compounds have shown to possess immunomodulatory inhibitory activity in the range of
IC
50
=11.5–17.9
µ
g/mL against zymosan-induced oxidative burst of whole blood and in the range of
IC
50
=5.5–17.9
µ
g/mL on oxidative burst of activated polymorphoneutrophils (PMNs).
Acknowledgements: We wish to acknowledge International Foundation for Sciences (IFS) for a providing financial support (F/3978–1) and Alexander von Humboldt (AvH) Foundation, Germany, for the post doc. fellowship to J. D. Wansi at Bielefeld University.
References: 1 Raponda-Walker, A.; Sillans, R. (1961) Les Plantes Utiles du Gabon (Paul Lechevalier Eds) 378–383. 2. Dagne, E. et al. (1988) Biochem Syst Ecol 16:179–188. 3. Ezugwu, C. et al. (2003) Helv Chem Acta 86:2914–2918. 4. Prakash, VS. et al. (2003)J Nat Prod 66:532–534.